Our Secret
by Catastrophic Tomato
Summary: Lovino has nothing to do for Spring break, but Gilbert soon changes that. Thus, is the beginning of their odd relationship. Prumano
1. Spring Break

**A/N: This is my second fic ever, and I'm thinking about making more chapters. Maybe a couple more, as the school year goes on and Lovino and Gilbert become closer. Come to think of it, I have no choice but to make another chapter because the title of this story won't make sense until the second chapter... Yeah. I'll get started on it soon, then. Reviews are welcome~ please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.**

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><p>It was Spring break for all of the students at the academy. Most of the student and staff population either went home to visit families and friends, or went on some other fun vacation. After all, that would be the normal thing to do, right?<p>

_So why the hell am I stuck here? _

Lovino thought to himself, as he sat on an outside bench eating his lunch. Antonio and Francis left him behind as they went to visit their families, and they wouldn't be back until a couple days before Spring break was over! So now, all he could do was sulk, alone. He wanted to have fun, too. He wanted to spend time with the only friends that he had.

Gilbert was walking from playing a short game of baseball (by himself), when he saw Lovino sitting alone. He'd known Lovino since middle school, but they never really hung out since Gilbert was three years older than the Italian. Although, since Antonio was Gilbert's best friend, he'd been talking to Lovino since the latter entered High School. This was a great chance for them to become close, since they weren't the best of friends, but were more than acquaintances.

"Lovino!" he called out, running over to the younger boy.

"Oh, hey Gilbert.." Lovino wasn't in the mood to be teased or anything like that. He'd hoped that Gilbert would quickly leave as he had came.

"Whatcha sittin' here alone for?" Gilbert asked, in a rather annoying tone.

"What's it look like, idiot? I'm eating my lunch." Lovino was already irritated by the weird albino guy.

"Well I can see that, but you look as if you just got dumped," he laughed, but soon stopped as he noticed the Italian was not laughing with him or at least getting angry.

"It sucks, you know. Everyone else gets to have a fun Spring break while I'm here, alone." Lovino let out short sigh and continued to eat.

"What about your classmates? All of your friends from there are gone, too?"

"What friends?" Lovino looked at Gilbert in confusion, "They're all bastards.. Every single one of them. The only people that hang out with me are Antonio, Francis, you, and my annoying little brother. Besides, he's still in the middle school section of this place."

"Well, I know you miss Antonio and all but-"

"I don't miss him! He just.. Provides me with entertainment is all." Lovino blushed slightly as he tried to hide the fact that he did miss his old friend.

"I'm still here, you know! You and I can have lots of awesome fun together!" Gilbert assured him, putting a hand on Lovino's shoulder only to have it pushed off.

"I guess that's true.. But no forcing me to do weird things, you bastard." He wouldn't admit it, but he was happy that Gilbert was there. Having at least one friend to mess around with was better than having none.

"What're ya eating? It looks good! Let me try some," his mouth almost drooling, Gilbert stared at the mysterious food Lovino had been chowing down on.

"It's _my_ pasta, get your own damn lunch." Lovino slowly ate another fork-full, teasing the hungry albino German.

"Please please _please_ let me try it! Don't be like that, Lovi~" he begged as he grabbed Lovino's shoulders and gently shook him.

"Fine! Damn, now stop that," he was starting to get a headache from being so annoyed, "oh, you're out of luck. I don't have another fork-" but Gilbert had already taken a bite from the fork Lovino was using.

"Wow! This is awesome! Did you make this? I didn't know _pretty boy _could cook~" Gilbert laughed after he tasted the pasta. He'd never had it before, but to him it was almost as good as potatoes.

Lovino began turning bright red, no one had ever praised his cooking before. "It's just pasta.. But if you liked that, you'll definitely like my Fettucini Alfredo dish."

After they finished what was originally Lovino's lunch, they were bored. Oh so very bored.

"I know! Let's pull a prank on our little brothers!" Gilbert finally came up with the idea of getting rid of their boredom by annoying the only two people that could not fight back.

"What do you have in mind?" Lovino was quite interested, he didn't like how Ludwig was always around Feliciano. It became so bad that Ludwig was _all _his little brother talked about!

"Well.." and then Gilbert proceeded to explain the plan.

_This should be fun.. I'll get that potato bastard for tainting my little brother!_

They stood on the outside stairs of one of the old school buildings with a bag full of water balloons. As childish of a joke it was, Lovino was having fun with Gilbert. He anticipated his moment of revenge.

"So, I texted Luddy and told him to bring your brother and meet under this spot- Oh look here they come, duck down so they can't see you." Gilbert said, he was just as eager as Lovino was to have a little fun.

"Ve~ what do you think your brother wanted to give us? Oh I hope it's pasta!" Feliciano was smiling innocently as he held hands and walked with his best friend Ludwig.

"I don't think it would be pasta.." Ludwig replied, leading them to the spot they were suppose to meet Gilbert.

"Oh hey look! A coin!" Feliciano exclaimed as he picked up the shiny coin, "Ve~ another one! We're lucky today~!"

"Now!" Gilbert whispered to Lovino, signaling them to start dropping the water balloons.

SPLAT.

"What the-" surprised, Ludwig looked up.

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT.

The water balloons came dropping down, soaking both Ludwig and Feliciano as they ran away, yelling. Gilbert and Lovino looked at each other, and then burst out with laughter at how easy it was to scare them off.

"Who knew scaring a couple of 13 year olds would be so hilarious," by then, Lovino was crying from laughter.

"I told you my plan would work! Luddy hates being wet, and Feli.. Well he's scared of everything."

"Well, they'll surely figure out what we did soon enough. So, what should we do for now?" Lovino asked, as he dusted off his pants and picked up the empty bag that was once full of balloons.

"Whatever you wanna do, Lovi. It has to be awesome though, or else I'm out."

"Of course it'll be awesome, idiot! Hmm, let's explore the old Gym the teachers never let us go in, I bet the rumors of the headless body or flying ghosts are true."

"Kesesesese~ alright Lovino, let's go! But don't piss your little pants~" Gilbert teased as he began walking down the stairs.

"Why do you do that?" Lovino suddenly stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"Do what?"

"Sometimes you call me Lovi, but then you go back to calling me Lovino.. Just call me Lovi like everyone else. I mean, we're friends, aren't we?" he said, blushing and looking down.

Gilbert laughed loudly and patted the little Italian on the back, "Sure, sure Lovi. In return, you must call me 'Awesome Senpai'!"

"Hell no." Lovino instantly declined such a ridiculous request.

"Aw, why not? I'm a senior and you're a freshman! That makes me your Senpai~" Gilbert smiled while pinching Lovino's cheek.

"You're nothing like a Senpai," he said, pushing Gilbert's hand away, "You're a.. Gilbert. Gilbert is Gilbert, and that's all."

"I'm the Awesome Gilbert though, right?" Gilbert began to make a pouting face, he knew he was awesome. So everyone should call him that!

Sighing, Lovino just agreed so that they could move on. "Yeah yeah, you're the 'Awesome Gilbert' now let's go!" he began finally making his way down the stairs, blushing slightly and pulling Gilbert by the hand.

They spent the rest of their afternoon disappointed at how the scary rumors weren't true, messing with their brothers again, and arguing about what was awesome and what wasn't. After eating a late dinner, they went back outside and laid together on the soft grass, looking up at the many stars across the night sky.

"Man, I wanna see a shooting star!" pouted Gilbert, he had never seen one in his entire life.

"Be patient, damn it. You'll see one, though it might not be tonight.." Lovino began to doze off until Gilbert started speaking again.

"I wonder, if stars had personalities, which ones would be cute, grumpy little tomato lovers like you~?" he teased, starting to laugh a little.

"What the hell are you talking about? Weirdo," closing his eyes, Lovino slowly fell into a light sleep as Gilbert continued to talk about unnecessary nonsense.

_Mmm.. It's kind of warm…Eh? It's talking? It's.. saying my name.._

"Loviiii, wake up~!" Gilbert called, gently shaking Lovino's exhausted body.

Opening his eyes, Lovino suddenly saw that it was Gilbert, kneeling over him.

"G-Gilbert..?" blushing as he noticed how close his face was to the German's.

"Get up, you can't sleep here. I'll walk you back to your dorm room," he offered as he helped Lovino get up from the cool grass.

"No, I'm not tired! Let's go to your room and play that scary game you were talking about earlier today." Lovino still wanted to have fun, in fact he had had so much fun that day with Gilbert, he didn't want it to end. Although, it was quite clear that he was exhausted.

"Well if you say so, but be warned, that game is true terror! But not for the awesome me~"

After a few hours of playing videos games and eating candy, Lovino's eyelids felt heavier than ever. Thus, he decided it was about time for his 'awesome' day to end.

"I'm going back to my room now, we can play more tomorrow.." trailing off, he slowly got up from the floor and lazily made his way towards the door.

"Wait, why not just sleep here?" Gilbert asked as he got up and helped Lovino, who was heading for the closet door instead of the door to the hallway.

Lovino looked around the room and asked sleepily, "Where am I supposed to sleep? I'm not sleeping in your bitchy roommate's bed," he growled, staring at the bed belonging to Vash. Even though he and his young sister were gone for vacation, Lovino still didn't want to take any chances.

"Then, you can sleep in my bed with me! I've got lots of room. Kesesese~" laughed Gilbert, pointing to his own bed.

"…Goodnight." Lovino rolled his eyes and headed for the exit again.

"Aw! Well good luck in that long dark, empty hallway out there. Your room is on the first floor, huh? Ouch, three flights of stairs below. Hope nothing happens to ya." smiling mischievously, Gilbert waved goodbye.

Opening the door, Lovino stared into the pitch black hallway before shutting the door again and turning back around.

"Well, I suppose it's not a bad idea to spend the night in here.." he was shaking a little and furiously blushing. He quickly walked back over to Gilbert's bed and climbed in, hiding his head under the soft blanket.

Lovino tossed and turned in the bed. Groaning, he reached out and grabbed something soft. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get loose. He whimpered a little, he felt hopeless. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he stared into darkness.

_Damn it, that dream again…_

Looking up, he saw a pair of bright red eyes staring at him in concern. He then looked down and noticed he was tightly holding onto Gilbert's shirt. He felt himself blushing deeply and quickly let go of his grip.

"Sorry…" apologizing and looking away, he started to get upset.

_Why did I have to have that dream tonight? Why now, of all times?_

"You were making weird noises and moving around a lot, did ya have a nightmare or something? I didn't think the game was _that_ scary.." Gilbert said, fixing his shirt.

"It wasn't the game!" Lovino blurted out, then realizing he was quite loud, "I mean.. it's just this nightmare that I have once in awhile.. Ever since I was little. I just need a moment.." he explained as he tried to get his heart to stop beating so fast.

"Well, the good thing about nightmares is that they aren't real. So when you wake up, you feel relieved!" Gilbert was trying to reassure his friend, as he could feel that Lovino was really embarrassed.

"I know that.. I know." Usually when he had the nightmare, he would be comforted by his grandfather or his brother. Only then would he be able to calm down. But there was no one now, he had to deal with it.

He tried not to think about it, but it stayed in his mind. He could feel the tears starting to swarm into his eyes, he could feel his head burning.

_I can't believe I'm going to start crying about a stupid nightmare.. I'm in high school now! I shouldn't cry about stupid things like this.. Especially in front of Gilbert, of all people._

He expected to start hearing laughter and teasing from Gilbert. He expected to hear him say how 'uncool' he was for being so upset over a dream and how he was 'so not awesome' anymore. He would then kick the albino jerk in his vital regions and storm out of the room, not caring about how dark the hallway was or how long the stairs seemed. Instead, none of that happened. In fact, the opposite did.

Gilbert reached his arm out and grabbed Lovino's waist, pulling him close. He then placed his hand on the Italian's head and began gently stroking his hair. Occasionally, he whispered things like 'It's okay' and 'There, there'.

Stunned, Lovino only managed to utter one word, "What.." as his heart was beating twice as fast now, and his face burning dark red. He was glad it was still night, so his face was hard to see.

"This is something I used to do whenever Luddy was upset or had a nightmare~" he said softly as he continued to nurture and caress Lovino.

_He feels so warm.._

It was becoming hard for Lovino to stay awake again, for he was far too comfortable now. So, he nuzzled into Gilbert's neck and instantly fell back to sleep.

For the next week or so, Lovino and Gilbert spent every day together, doing things from breaking rules and getting into trouble, to playing games and messing with their brothers. And every night they slept together. Although, Lovino never had that nightmare again.

"Stop, damn bastard!" Lovino said, but he couldn't help but giggle as Gilbert continued poking and elbowing him in his side. He wished he'd never let the silly German find out about his weak spot. They continued walking around, looking for something or someone to mess with.

"There's nothing here, so where do you wanna go, Lovi?" Gilbert sighed, tired of walking around the large school.

"I would suggest swimming, but last time you tried to drown me, jerk!" Lovino started fuming. He wasn't the best swimmer, but he loved to relax in the water. It was soon ruined by Gilbert, though.

"Kesesesese~ I was just messin' with ya! Pretending to be a shark and pulling you under the water isn't the same as trying to drown you," he began to laugh, putting his arm around Lovino's shoulder.

"I don't care what you were doing, you scared me half to death, idiot!" He started to blush again and tried to change the subject, "Anyways.. I heard a commotion earlier near the front gate. Let's check it out."

As they neared the front gate, they started seeing more and more students. Then Lovino noticed two in particular that he hadn't seen in almost two weeks.

"Hey! Antonio and Francis are back!" Lovino shouted, waving to them. They soon noticed him, and smiled happily, signaling for he and Gilbert to come over.

Gilbert watched as Lovino ran to greet them, then the Italian pretended not to have missed them much. He was happy to see his 'bros' were back, but for some reason he also felt a bit disappointed. He was jealous of the relationship Antonio had with Lovino. He was jealous of how Antonio and Francis had known Lovino for almost all of their lives. He wanted to have Lovino all to himself, for just a bit longer.

Letting out a long sigh, Gilbert began walking over to greet them. Smiling to himself, he mumbled, "I can't believe I'm falling for the kid~"


	2. First Kiss

**A/N: I decided to add in some angst for this chapter. After all, high school has _a lot_ of angst. I hope it's worthy..**

**Again, reviews and criticism are welcome.**

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><p>Antonio and Lovino walked side-by-side one sunny morning on their way to breakfast before class would start. Now that Spring break was over, they went back to their everyday routine: Breakfast, morning classes, Lunch, P.E, then afternoon classes. Lovino hated this, it was all way too boring. He wished that he could rewind time and extend the number of days they were given for vacation. He had had way too much fun with Gilbert to have it suddenly end and go back to the way things were.<p>

"Damn it.." Lovino muttered, tiredly walking, dragging his feet.

"Cheer up Lovi! It's a beautiful morning, see? The sun is shining for you!" his Spanish friend Antonio smiled. He was always so cheerful, it annoyed Lovino greatly.

"Shut up.. Where the hell is Francis?" he said grouchily as he kicked a rock lying in his path. He'd rather have Antonio annoy the French bastard than to bother him.

"I dunno~ It was difficult to wake him up this morning and help him get ready." Antonio said, looking up at the sky.

"Why the hell do you need to help him get ready?"

"He told me before that he can't get ready unless I help him dress," Antonio explained, sounding as if he pitied the blondie, "and I don't mind, he's my best friend! Just like you~" and he smiled cheerfully toward Lovino.

_Francis is such a stupid ass pervert. And this idiot can't even figure that much out._

Lovino sighed once again, his stomach began to growl. He couldn't wait to enjoy a nice plate full of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Then he'd wash all of it down with some freshly squeezed orange juice. Then for lunch, he'd have a big Italian-themed sandwich. Or maybe some spaghetti, whichever he could get his hands on first.

"Let's hurry up, I'm so damn hung-" but his sentence was cut off as he suddenly felt an arm swiftly wrap around his shoulder.

"Mornin' boys!" Gilbert said aloud, he was now in between Antonio and Lovino with his arms on both of their shoulders. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"What the hell, jerk! Don't surprise me like that, so early in the morning.. Geez, and you're so damn loud." a complaining Lovino shouted at the German.

"Lovi~ Be nicer to Gilbert, he's only playing. Good morning Gil! Lovi is grumpy today~" Antonio teased as he poked Lovino's cheek, then getting his hand slapped away by the short Italian.

"When is he **not** grumpy?" Gilbert laughed and opened the door as they reached the cafeteria entrance.

After they received their breakfast, they sat down at the usual table in a corner they favored. It seemed as if it had been forever since they last sat there together. It almost brought back a sense of nostalgia. Still, there was one thing missing, and that thing suddenly appeared.

"Bonjour~" said Francis, joining them at the table with a plate of his own.

"Where were you this morning? I was beginning to worry~" as usual, Antonio was the only one that cared.

"Sorry, I had an emergency to attend to so suddenly." he answered, not looking worried at all as he began to eat.

"What, did you forget to wear your _panties_ again?" Gilbert snorted as he shoved another bite of food into his already full mouth.

"Gil! This is no time to joke, he said emergency so it must be serious!" frowned Antonio, he never made light of things that seemed important. Thus, he always lectured Gilbert, who made light of _everything._

"Ohonhonhonhon, it is serious. I spied a new student, an _exchange_ student with cute, long dark pigtails. She's an islander. And since I saw her first, I've got first dibs," smiling mischievously, Francis did a short victory dance in his seat as if he'd won the Olympics.

Antonio, Gilbert, and Lovino only stared at him for a few seconds then sighed, before finishing their meals. They should have expected this, since Francis had a different idea of what the word 'emergency' meant.

Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of morning classes. Or how Lovino thought of it, the beginning of hell. He was surely going to end up pissed by the end of the afternoon, as he did almost every school day before this. He hated his teachers, he hated his classmates, and the general population of the school.

"Well, see you at lunch, Lovi~ The usual spot, outside," smiling cheerfully as usual, Antonio patted Lovino on the head and began walking to class with Francis.

"You alright, Lovi?" a concerned Gilbert asked, staring at the younger boy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now go, or you'll be late and have to stay in that damn detention room again."

"Alright alright, see ya!" Gilbert smiled and suddenly gave Lovino a quick hug before running off to catch up to the other two.

_What the hell was that for.._

He shrugged and began walking to his own classroom, alone. He wished that he could have someone to walk to class with. His only friends were two grades ahead of him, and his brother was two grades behind. He'd be alone his entire high school life.

_Whatever._

He let out a sigh before opening the door and entering the classroom, full of the students and the teacher that he claimed to hate so much.

As soon as the bell that signaled lunch time rang, he left the classroom as fast as he could and maneuvered his way to get what he had been starving for. He cursed at how they made the sandwiches a tad small, because he was quite the eater. Walking outside, he heard Antonio call out to him, waving him to hurry over. As he arrived at the table, Antonio patted the seat next to him, smiling.

"Lovi, sit next to me!" Gilbert said, laughing and flailing his arms in the air as if Lovino hadn't seen him.

"Ehhh? But Lovi always sits next to me~" Antonio began to whine, looking at Gilbert questionably.

"Not today he isn't." with a smirk, Gilbert pulled Lovino into his lap, almost causing the smaller boy to drop his food.

"You guys never fight over who gets to sit next to me.." Francis frowned, watching the other two fight over the small Italian.

"Cut it out, damn it!" Lovino shouted, he was hungry and now very annoyed, "I'm sitting next to Francis and that's final."

"So anyways, guess what I heard-" as Francis began his usual gossiping and telling of how he got the chance to speak with the new student, the other three sat quietly, eating their lunches. Antonio occasionally said things like 'Oh, really?' so as to seem interested.

Lovino felt as if something was peering into his soul, it made him uncomfortable. Glancing up, he saw the albino was intensely staring at him. Gilbert smiled when they locked eyes, causing Lovino to quickly look away, blushing.

When they finished their meal, they joked around for awhile before being forced to return to class by the cruel sound of the bell.

_Finally! What I've been waiting for all damn day._

Lovino sighed tiredly, it was after school and he wanted to take a nice siesta outside in the warm weather. He looked for a big tree to use as shade and laid down, using his backpack as a pillow. The cool wind blew past his face, relaxing him as he listened to the birds chirping. For once, he didn't find them extremely annoying. In fact, they soothed him as he forgot all about everything he hated. He was almost asleep when he remembered today _was_ in fact a school day, which could only mean one thing.

_Shit, I still have to do my homework.. Oh well, that can wait._

And he dozed off.

Gilbert whistled to himself as he walked along the main school courtyard. He didn't care about doing homework or anything like that, he even managed to fall asleep in class that morning. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of a body lying under a nearby tree.

"Maybe it's a dead body!" He said to himself, quite excitedly. Anything that would take away his boredom was fine, as long as it wasn't work.

Getting closer, he saw that it was indeed a body. It wasn't dead, but rather, it was sleeping. He smiled brightly when he realized it was Lovino. The small boy looked so adorable and harmless when he was sleeping, no one would ever guess he had such a foul mouth. Gilbert stood there for a second before sitting next to Lovino's motionless body. As he watched him sleep, he lightly played with the soft bangs resting on the Italian's forehead. After a few minutes, he picked a flower lying near him and tucked it into the side of Lovino's hair.

"Kesesese~ how pretty." Gilbert tried not to laugh loudly to avoid awakening the usually grumpy kid. Bored again, he rested his head on the ground next to Lovino and fell asleep.

Lovino slowly opened his eyes and stared into the sky that was mostly blocked by the leaves in the tree.

_Damn, it's almost sunset already.._

He sat up, rubbing his tired eyes and suddenly felt the stem of the flower in his hair. Removing it, he stared at it in confusion.

_What the hell is this?_

Dropping it onto the ground, he turned once he saw someone in the corner of his eyes. He yelped at the sudden sight of Gilbert, who was still sleeping but began to awaken when he heard Lovino. Opening his eyes, he smiled at Lovino who still sat there in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing, jerk.. I was taking a peaceful nap!" Lovino puffed his cheeks and looked away, as he could not avoid blushing whenever Gilbert smiled at him.

"I'm just doing what you were doing?" he answered, scooting his body closer to Lovino.

"Yeah well, no one asked you to." Lovino was obviously grumpy, he always was when he first awoken.

"I didn't realize I had to be asked," he reached towards Lovino, and began stroking his hair.

"Don't touch me." though Lovino clearly and instantly said this, he actually liked it when Gilbert played with his hair.

"But I bet Antonio touches you all the time~" smirking, Gilbert poked Lovino's red cheeks.

"What the hell? No he doesn't, stop being a perv!" turning bright red, Lovino moved himself a few inches away so as to stop being poked.

"Aw, Lovi~ Don't be so modest," he teased one last time, before grabbing Lovino's curl and gently tugging it.

"CHIGIIII!" Lovino screeched, smacking Gilbert's hand away and jolting up from the ground, "Y-You! And... That! Just.. NO! Damn it!" furiously blushing, Lovino grabbed his bag and quickly walked away. Gilbert's actions were unforgivable, he told himself. So what if the German didn't know the curl was, well, his erogenous zone. Touching someone without their permission was wrong! Not that he'd ever give Gilbert permission to touch the curl, right?

_Damn that bastard.. Now I can't stop thinking about it!_

By the time he stopped walking, he was near the old Gym. He sat down on the concrete and watched as a large group of kids laughed while playing some sort of game.

_What amateurs, playing such a childish game even though they're high schoolers, too._

He chuckled to himself, even though he secretly wished that he could join them. They looked as if they were having fun, and he needed to have fun right about now to distract himself from the weird feeling that Gilbert had given him.

"Great! Now that Toris totally just ditched us, we don't have even teams!" a rather feminine guy named Feliks complained.

"Um.. Would you like to play with us..?"

Lovino looked up to see his classmate, the talkative Tino, staring at him. Before he could answer, one of the other students spoke up.

"No, not that guy, he's such an annoying brat." laughed Sadiq, one of the older students in the group.

"I agree, he thinks he's so much better than everyone else here, but he doesn't realize that one day he will become one with me!" the psychopathic Ivan smiled, joining in on the picking.

"…Who even said I wanted to play? !" Lovino shouted, very pissed off at how they were judging him when they didn't even know him. Just because they were in the same class or in the same school, doesn't mean that they knew anything about him.

"No one was talking to you, now were they?" laughing a bit, Arthur walked over to join them.

"G-Guys I don't t-think we s-should continue this.." stuttering, Raivis tried to get the others to stop bullying Lovino, but since he was the youngest in the group, no one even bothered to listen to him.

"Just leave. If you can't tell, no one wants you here. And don't you dare yell at my precious big brother Ivan again." Natalia spat, glaring furiously at Lovino.

As Lovino stood there, more of the kids started trash talking him and mocking everything he said back. His eyes started to swarm with tears as he denied everything bad that they claimed he was like. Unable to win against them, he felt cornered.

"ALL OF YOU CAN GO TO HELL!" and he ran off, as everyone watched him, laughing.

On his way to apologize for whatever he had done wrong, Gilbert thought of what he should say and how he should say it.

"Hey Lovi, listen! …No no that won't work. What about, 'Yo I've got something to say to you, cutie~' No that sounds corny.." Gilbert sighed as he made his way towards the direction in which Lovino had walked off to. Suddenly, he spotted a crying Lovino run into the old Gym. Had he really upset him _that_ badly? No, something else must have happened.

Lovino sat on an old mat inside the dark, cold Gym, crying into his folded arms.

_I hate them. I hate them all._

He wished horrible things beyond imagine would happen to every single one of them, until he heard the creaking of the old steel door being opened. Had they come to tease him even more? Looking up, he saw that it was Gilbert, sympathetically staring at him. At first he tried to wipe his eyes, but he gave up as he decided he didn't care if Gilbert saw him crying. He'd already cried in front of the albino once before during Spring break about a nightmare, so why should it matter that he cried now because of a few harsh words?

Gilbert slowly walked over to Lovino and sat down by his side.

_What the hell? Why come in here if you're just going to watch.._

He suddenly felt a hand gently start to rub his back. He looked up to see that Gilbert was blushing slightly and looking down. After a few moments, his sobbing started to turn into sniffles and he began to calm down. Letting out a loud sigh, he felt exhausted from losing so much fluids. He'd developed a small headache and his chest was sore from the huffing and puffing he had done. He closed his eyes for a short moment to gather his thoughts.

When he opened his eyes, Gilbert's face was right before his. Before he could think, he felt a soft, warm sensation against his lips. His lips then seemed to act on their own as they moved in rhythm with the other pair of lips that enchanted him. It was as if time had stopped for that brief moment, and only then did his heart start beating again when Gilbert's lips parted from his own.

Using the sleeves on his sweater, Gilbert gently wiped away the remaining tears that rested on Lovino's soft face. He then swiftly kissed the boy on his forehead and smiled.

"Feelin' better yet?" he asked in a calm, soft voice.

Lovino could only nod slightly, still in shock from the sudden contact. He was unable to think straight, and continued to stare into the big red eyes of his first kiss.

"Let's get some Gelato, I'll buy you your favorite flavor~" smiling, Gilbert helped Lovino from the floor and held onto his hand, walking to get the dessert.

They stared into the sunset as they sat on a short brick wall, eating their ice cream. Suddenly, Gilbert spoke up.

"So.. Wanna tell me what happened?" he said, looking towards Lovino for an asnwer. When his friend only blushed and looked down, he smiled and added, "It's alright, you can trust me."

Lovino inhaled, then tried to explain, "It's nothing really.. You see, a lot of people dislike me, strongly dislike me. Or hate me, whichever word fits best. They were just teasing me, it's only natural. This has happened to me since Elementary so I'm used to it." he tried to smile, but couldn't.

Gilbert frowned and glared at Lovino before saying, "There's nothing _natural _about being bullied. No one deserves to be treated in such a way!" He was angry that someone would deliberately try to hurt Lovino, the very person he cared for most. "but I understand if you don't want to make a huge fuss and get the teachers involved.. So at least tell me when someone's bothering you."

"But, Gilbert.." he didn't want to get Gilbert involved, either.

"Tell me, and I'll protect you. The Awesome Gilbert promises!" he smiled, jumping from his seat to do a heroic pose. Lovino couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous the albino looked.

He joined Gilbert in walking back to their dorms. As they talked, they laughed about the stupid things they did earlier that day in their classes instead of listening to the teachers.

"Dinner should be served soon, what're ya gonna do before then?" asked Gilbert as he stretched.

"Damn.. I just remembered I've got annoying ass homework to do." sighing loudly, Lovino looked disappointed.

"Kesesese~ well good luck with that! I'll just copy mine from Antonio. Speaking of the airhead, I'm going to see what he's up to," as he started walking off, Lovino tugged at his sleeve.

"Umm.. Thanks for earlier.. Oh and, neither Antonio nor Francis know about what I've endured all these years. So let's keep it a secret, alright?" he requested as he stood there blushing.

Gilbert smiled and reassured him, "No problem, it'll be our secret!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The reason Lovino was being bullied was because people found him to be quite rude and standoff-ish. Whenever someone tried talking to him, he'd either ignore them or say something unnecessary. So most of his school life, people either avoided him or made fun of him. But he wasn't arrogant, he just had trust issues and bad manners.**

** I am thinking of making Gilbert sort of a hero in the next chapter, but I don't know how I would do with that.. I might just skip that idea and go with my other one. I'll have to think of it. Anywho, thanks for reading~!**


	3. I'll Protect You

**A/N: This chapter is kind of a sub-chapter.. I needed a gap to fill in for the next chapter (the next one is in the Winter, the previous one was in Spring)**

**I didn't want to make a huge time skip and needed more to write about for Lovino's first year, so I made this one up on spot. Thus, I don't think it's nearly as good as the other two, but I wanted to fill my friend's request of making Gilbert kick a little bit of ass. After all, he is a fighter.**

* * *

><p>The building was dark, it was getting late. Silence filled the room of which they laid on the couch. They were in Antonio's dorm room, which he shared with Francis. Even though Lovino was tired, Gilbert continued to tease him.<p>

"Ah, Gilbert.. Stop.." Lovino quietly groaned at the German who was on top of him.

"But Lovi, you look so cute! Kesesese~" he laughed and teased his little friend, "don't move, I'm almost done."

Suddenly, the door opened. There stood Antonio and Francis at the entrance, carrying a couple bags of snacks and drinks.

"Why are the lights off?" Francis questioned, remembering they had left them on when they left the room. As he turned on the lights, they stared at what seemed to be Gilbert doing something weird to Lovino, who was half asleep.

"AHH! Antonio! It was just a little joke, so chill-" he tried to explain, as Antonio tightly held him in a headlock.

"What were you doing with my little Lovi~?" Antonio smiled creepily, squeezing Gilbert's neck harder.

"Ohonhon, Lovi looks even more cute now~" Francis laughed as he saw that Gilbert had been drawing weird pictures on Lovino's face with a marker.

"He was so vulnerable, I couldn't help myself!" Gilbert tried to laugh but started coughing as Antonio finally let him loose.

"It's not nice to pull pranks, especially on poor Lovi," Antonio lectured, shaking Lovino awake, "come on, I'll wash your face for you."

As Antonio led a very exhausted Lovino into the bathroom, Gilbert sighed and began to chug down a can of soda.

"How can I have any fun if Antonio always treats Lovi like his baby?" he ranted, shoving a few pieces of sour candies into his mouth, then spitting them out in disgust.

"He's always been like that, after all, Lovi is like a younger brother to him. He treats Feli like that, too." Francis said as he looked away from the gross mess Gilbert was making.

"Well I wish he would **only** treat Feli like that." he continued to complain, opening another soda.

"Oh? Have something against him and Lovi~?" leaning in closer and smirking, Francis tried to read Gilbert's thoughts.

"Well.. Yeah! I mean, Lovi can take care of himself.." looking away to avoid Francis' glare, he tried to hide his jealousy with that lame excuse. But it was true, Lovino could take care of himself, he just preferred to be pampered and dependent.

It was the weekend, so they spent the night in each other's rooms and played games, watched funny movies, ate junk food, and made a trip to the center of town to shop for random goodies.

"We're supposed to meet them at the bus stop, right?" Lovino asked Gilbert before they departed.

"Yup, did you bring your money?" he asked, while softly rubbing Lovino's shoulders.

"Duh, I'm not a child.. And why do you keep doing that?" Lovino shook his shoulders to make him let go.

"Doing what, exactly?" Gilbert looked dumbstruck.

"Touching me, flirting with me.. And you kissed me that one time!" turning away to hide his red face, he was confused and tired of the way Gilbert had been acting.

"Oh, because I like you~" smiling innocently, he patted Lovino on the head.

"Dumb ass! Don't say such things like that.. You'll give people the wrong idea!" trying not to sound as embarrassed as he felt, he began to quickly walk off, "Anyways, hurry up or we'll be late!"

"Or the right idea.." mumbling to himself, he followed behind Lovino.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Lovino found himself walking around the school to waste time again. Lately, that had been his main activity to avoid feeling alone. The seniors of the school were busy studying for exams and some random crap to do with college prep that Lovino didn't understand. Because of this, his three best friends weren't able to spend as much time with him as they usually did.<p>

_I wish I was a senior already.. Maybe I can do so well on a test that they'll let me skip a couple grades!_

Sighing to himself, he knew that was impossible. He was only an average student, and even if he were a genius, he doubt it would happen. He continued to walk until a couple of random students called out to him.

"Hey kid, lemme borrow 20 bucks, I'll pay ya back," the guy asked then laughed.

"Leave me the hell alone." Lovino walked on, trying to ignore the delinquents.

"Oh he's got a nice attitude!" the guy's shorter friend chuckled as they began to walk towards him.

"Well then we're just gonna have to teach him some manners," he grabbed Lovino by the shoulder, but was soon kicked in the shin.

_This is seriously not my damn day!_

Lovino ran as fast as he could, trying to get away from the two older (and bigger) guys. He made a swift turn around the corner and bumped into something, crashing into the ground.

Looking up, he saw that it was Gilbert whom he had crashed into. Behind him were Antonio and Francis, staring at him with puzzled expressions. He was so relieved to see them, but before he could tell them, he heard the guys coming closer.

Getting up, he ran behind Gilbert as the delinquents came around the corner.

"Excuse me, but what could you two possibly want with Lovi?" Antonio questioned as he stood protectively in front of the Italian.

"Move, we don't care who you guys are, we're trying to teach the kid some respect," the shorter guy said as they both began to move towards them.

"Actually, I think I should teach you assholes some respect with my shiny bat." Gilbert smirked, swinging the bat and almost hitting their faces.

"Ladies, ladies~ No need for violence, right?" Francis tried to break the ice, moving in between the bat and the bullies.

The two angry guys cursed and quickly walked off. Lovino let out a sigh of relief as the three of them faced him.

"I could've handled it myself.." he groaned, trying to hide the fear in his eyes.

"Yeah, and then the ambulance would've had to pick you up," Gilbert snorted then asked, "what do they have against you, anyways?"

"Nothing, they just wanted my damn money."

Making a childish pouting face, Antonio said, "Well I ought to inform their teachers and-"

"Just drop it! You're not telling anyone," he said, glaring up at Antonio.

"But.. Lovi?" Antonio's expression changed to that of a child that had just been scolded.

"It's no big deal, damn.. Now let's go do something, we haven't been together much lately." walking back to the dorms, the other three followed him.

The next day, Lovino sat in his empty classroom after everyone had gone, not wanting to walk around the school again.

_I suppose I'll sit here until I think they're done doing stupid senior stuff.._

And so he sat. And sat. He had hoped one of them would text him, asking to hang out for a bit. But he never received a single message.

He stood up, and walked out into the hallway. As soon as he turned left, he saw the same bullies from the day before, walking in his direction. He froze, thinking of what to do. He tried to back up slowly and return into the room, then leave after they had passed him by, but they spotted him.

He quickly turned around and ran inside the room, as he tried to close the door, one of the guys pushed him back and they came inside, cornering him. This time, there were three.

"Is this the kid you were talking about?" the new one asked, staring at Lovino, "he's kinda cute."

"Yep, what a coincidence. I was hoping to see you again one day, we never got to teach you anything," the first guy said, smiling.

* * *

><p>"Man, being a senior is so annoying. I wish I could hire someone to do all of this crap for me!" Gilbert complained as they walked out of their long group study session.<p>

"I know~ It's like we get extra classes just because we're older." Francis sighed.

"Where's Lovi? I wanna see him." Gilbert said impatiently, taking out his phone to start texting the younger boy.

Antonio stared at him for a second, then answered, "He told me he was going to stay in his classroom for awhile."

"Oh.. He never told me that," feeling a bit envious, he decided to be the first to see Lovino, "I'm going to see if he's still there." And he ran off.

Lovino tried to swiftly run past them, but was shoved down instead.

"No no, you're not going anywhere, pretty boy~" the shorter one snickered as he yanked off Lovino's sweater and held him down.

"Let me go! Bastards!" he yelled, only to have one of them cover his mouth with their hand.

"Calm down, we're not trying to rape you or anything, we're just gonna humiliate ya!" the guy laughed as he yanked open Lovino's shirt, "hey, you still got one of those spray painting cans we used earlier?"

"Yeah, and the wrench!" the new guy said as he grabbed the items from his bag.

Lovino rapidly squirmed and managed to bite the hand of the guy covering his mouth.

"GILBERT!" Lovino screamed out at the top of his lungs.

"The damn brat bit me!" he said, slapping Lovino across the face.

Suddenly, the door shot open. The three guys turned around to see Gilbert standing there, eyes wide open.

Before they knew it, Gilbert glided over to them, punching each of them in the face. They tried to fight back but only earned themselves more punches to the face and stomach, then kicks in their vital regions. Knowing they were no match, they ran out of the room, holding onto their injured parts.

Gilbert quickly ran over and knelt down in front of Lovino.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you? !" he frantically asked as he began buttoning up Lovino's open shirt.

"I-I'm.. fine." he answered in a low whisper.

"Lovi?" placing his hand on Lovino's cheek, Gilbert looked at him in concern.

"I'm not going to cry.." he responded in a hushed voice, trying his best to hold in all of the emotions that he felt at that moment. He didn't want to rely on his friend this time. Gilbert had comforted and saved him many times before, he didn't want to be seen as a weakling that always had to be rescued. He hoped that one day, he'd be the one doing the comforting.

"I'm strong, you know." he smiled shortly, then grabbed his sweater.

"Yeah, you are~" Gilbert smiled back, examining the small bruise on Lovino's face from the hard slap.

"Teach me how to defend myself," looking Gilbert in the eyes, Lovino was very serious and determined.

"..Alright," he couldn't refuse, the fire in Lovino's eyes amazed him.

Moving towards the window after hearing many voices below, Gilbert looked down. "Oh hey! Those sorry bastards ran into Antonio and Francis. Kesesese~ This is entertaining… oops, looks like there's a teacher, too."

The three jerks ended up getting expelled for having participated in vandalism and harassing other kids all across the academy. Every afternoon for the next couple weeks, Gilbert taught Lovino some moves he could use on anyone that ever decided to mess with him.

One afternoon, Lovino sat in his empty classroom again with Gilbert. The latter was telling him a ridiculous story about 'awesome this' and 'awesome that'. He laughed at how none of it made sense but it was funny to listen to him ramble on.

"Damn, you made my stomach hurt, bastard," he laughed as he wiped away a tear of joy.

Completely randomly, Gilbert leaned forward and kissed Lovino on the cheek.

"W-What the hell was that for? !" Lovino blushingly looked at him as if he had suddenly gone mad.

"You have a gorgeous smile, you know that? You should use it more often~" the albino smirked, brushing his hand against Lovino's cheek, "don't you agree?"

Lovino's heart stopped as he could slightly feel Gilbert's lips brush against his own for a split second.

Gilbert stood up and grabbed his guitar case, "Antonio and Francis are waiting for you outside, I need to go to band practice. Don't keep 'em waiting~" and he left.

He sat there for a few seconds, wondering what the hell just happened before running to meet the others outside.

* * *

><p>That evening, he sent a text to Francis, telling him to visit him in his dorm room.<p>

"So what did you want to speak to me about? Don't tell me.. You want to have a fun experiment with me tonight~?" Francis winked and smiled pervertedly before getting a huge pillow thrown to his face.

"It's about Gilbert, dumb ass." Lovino blushed as he clenched his stuffed tomato pillow, "he's been acting strange around me for quite awhile now. I wanted to keep it a secret but I just don't know what to do about it.."

"How strange has he been acting?" Francis was interested, he liked any kind of gossip or secret.

"Well, one time he kissed me! On the lips! Earlier today he even said I had a gorgeous smile and kissed my cheek! And.. and he's always touching me and saying weird things! He told me he liked me, but I already know that because you have to like your friends, right? !" he blurted out, hiding his face into the pillow.

Francis gasped, he was already suspicious about Gilbert's constant mention of Lovino, but now he knew exactly what was going on. He decided he wouldn't interfere though, he wanted to watch a bit longer and stay entertained.

"Well, that's just how Gilbert shows his affection!" smiling brightly, he patted Lovino's shoulder.

"So you're telling me he does that to you and Antonio, too? !" Lovino's eyes widened.

"No no no.. Antonio and myself are like his.. Brothers! So he treats us as such~"

"Then.. What the hell am I?" he frowned, wanting to be thought of as a brother, too.

"You're his.. best friend! You two have a growing relationship that cannot be broken, so don't worry about what he does~ Unless he tries to strip you. Goodnight!" Francis waved goodbye and left the room.

Smirking, Francis said to himself, "Gilbert.. that idiot. Well, I'll just see how he handles this~"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if this chapter seems pretty corny with the whole **cliché bully scene/fight. Most of the events used in this one were made up as I typed :D...****

**I tried to rid the whole assumption everyone at the school had of Lovino being a crybaby and/or weakling. Although it was impossible for him to win against the three random dudes, since it was 3 vs 1 and they were older than him, but also had bigger physical builds.**

**I wanna say.. this chapter is mainly about protection? Antonio tried to protect Lovino from getting pranked on, and Gilbert protected Lovino from getting hurt. Everyone that is close to him has a desire to protect him. Lovino uses that to his advantage, but he started getting tired of it as he knew they wouldn't be able to protect him forever, and they'd probably soon get annoyed by it.**

**So yeah, forgive the random angst and such. I've written all of my notes for the next chapter which I plan to start typing out sometime tomorrow, but it's pretty long. I'm going to call it "Winter ball and Broken Promises"**


	4. Winter Ball and Broken Promises

**A/N: Wooo, it's finally done! This took all day to type, mainly because I was doing other stuff in between and trying to describe the emotions as best as I could. And thanks for the encouragement in the review of the last chapter~ I didn't think people would like it because I rushed it but it seemed to have been alright!**

**So yeah, enjoy~ **

* * *

><p>"Gilbert! Gilbert!" Lovino came running outside from the main school building, trying to catch up to his best friend.<p>

Turning around, Gilbert stared at Lovino wondering why he was so noisy this cold afternoon.

"I got a part in the play!" smiling brightly, Lovino looked more excited than ever before.

"Oh really? What does that mean?" Gilbert yawned and scratched his head in confusion.

"The Christmas play, the one they hold every year before the Winter Ball!" he continued to yell excitedly, but Gilbert still stood there, with a questionable look on his face.

"The WINTER BALL. The dance that's held right before CHRISTMAS." Lovino grew irritated at how clueless Gilbert was.

"Oh yeah, that! Congrats, Lovi~" he smiled and gave Lovino a pat on the shoulder.

"Damn, do you even _go_ to this school? What's wrong with you?" tightening Gilbert's scarf, Lovino began to worry that the albino was sick with some sort of odd cold.

"Yeah yeah, sorry. It's just that I've never bothered to see the play or attend the dance before, too corny." yawning again, he continued to walk on.

"Well you should come this year, I'm in it. Although I'm not going to be the main character, I still got a major important role as a supporting character. In fact, I'm the bad guy!" walking alongside Gilbert, Lovino continued to talk about the play, "you should've seen the faces of those sorry bastards when I got the part. None of the jerks knew I was one hell of an actor. Also, Francis is the narrator so I won't be alone!"

"Alright Lovi, I promise to go see your little play. But don't try to kick my ass if I don't make it, I'm trying to get extra credit so I can graduate in a few months." Gilbert's teachers and the school counselor had been giving him loads of work to complete while everyone else had little to no work because of Christmas nearing.

"It's your damn fault for skipping classes and falling asleep when you actually did show up!" Lovino was right, Gilbert was lazy when it came to school work, "but okay, I'll understand if you don't show."

For the next couple weeks, Gilbert poured all of his energy into studying and Lovino practiced with the other cast members. He'd even managed to get a girl to ask him to eat lunch with her as they practiced their lines. He enjoyed rehearsal because none of the kids were hostile towards him. For once, he felt like he could be himself in front of people other than his usual friends.

Sitting in the warm student lounge, the five of them talked and tasted a bunch of cookies Feliciano had made.

"Ve~ I made you guys these cookies so we could share them and be happy together!" Feliciano smiled, "and Luddy helped, too!" he exclaimed, giving the blushing Ludwig a big hug.

"Wow Feli-chan, these cookies are delicious~" Antonio smiled as he patted the younger Italian on the head.

"But I bet you'd be even more delic-" Francis said as he attempted to move towards Feliciano but was instead hit in the head by Lovino.

"Oh and Gilbert, I made these for you~" as Feliciano presented a small pouch filled with cookies and tied with a pretty blue ribbon, he hugged Gilbert, "I know you've been working hard lately, so stay strong!"

"Thanks Feli~ almost makes me feel bad about all of the pranks I've pulled on you this year! Kesesese~" laughing and rubbing Feliciano's head, he thanked him.

Lovino glared at the two before rolling his eyes.

_Don't lie.. pulling those pranks together was fun._

"These taste great! You should make me some more one day," Gilbert smiled as he praised Feliciano's cooking.

_I can make cookies, too._

"You're so cute, I wish you were my little brother, too!"

_You said I was cute first.._

"Be careful, Luddy. I just might steal him from you~" Gilbert teased his brother as he continued to fondle Feliciano until Antonio wanted a turn.

Getting up from his seat, Lovino walked out of the room without uttering a word. As Francis and Antonio playfully argued over who gets to see Feliciano first, Gilbert wondered where Lovino had gone off to.

The next day, Gilbert noticed that Lovino hardly talked to him. In fact, he even gave him the silence treatment for a bit. He shrugged it off, thinking that maybe the boy was stressed due to the play coming up soon or the fact that Gilbert hadn't hung out with him a lot lately because of his school work.

Eventually, the day came. Walking out of the dorm, Gilbert was on his way to get a book he needed from the library when a few classmates tried to get his attention.

"Hey Gilbert! Where ya goin'?" one of them asked.

"Can't talk now, guys. I'm almost done with my work, just need this one book..." he turned around and said lazily, they were shocked to see he looked like a zombie.

"Geez, you've been working hard! Do you even eat properly?" they laughed, "we're going to the arcade in town, you should come with us!"

"I don't think so, I'm seriously close to being done." He hadn't played a video game in weeks, it was as if he was starving himself of entertainment.

"If you're almost done, you can easily finish it later, so come on! We're paying for the pizza, too." after he heard that he wouldn't have to pay for good food, he followed them out of the school.

From behind the curtain, Lovino looked out into the huge crowd of people. He felt a wave of nervousness in his stomach crash into his ribs. He couldn't believe most of these people didn't even _go_ to the school, but were actually friends and families of the cast members. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder.

"I'm nervous too, but we can do it!" smiled the girl he had eaten lunch with before.

"Thanks, Lili.. Good luck, you have even more lines than me." Lovino tried his best to smile back.

Suddenly, they were all signaled to get into their correct places. Lovino slowly inhaled then exhaled, closing his eyes. When the curtains rose, he transformed completely into his character.

* * *

><p>After the play, Lovino and Francis were greeted by Antonio, Feliciano, and Ludwig. They congratulated them on their awesome performance and all of the effort that they had put into the show these past few weeks. It was a true success.<p>

"Where's Gilbert?" Lovino looked around, impatiently. He wanted to be praised by him, and told how much he enjoyed seeing him on stage.

"He wasn't sitting with us, maybe he sat some where else?" Antonio tried to reassure Lovino, he hadn't seen Gilbert all day either, so it was likely that he hadn't come at all. Even so, he wanted to stay positive because he saw the sad expression that started to appear on Lovino's face.

They waited for a while, but none of the exiting people turned out to be the missing albino.

"Umm, sorry big brother.. You still did a great job though! I'd like to see it again! Ve~" Feliciano smiled at his disappointed brother, trying to cheer him up.

"Oh.. Thanks, Feli. You guys go ahead, I'll meet you there." Lovino said as he left them. The cast members were having a small celebration party, but he wouldn't be able to enjoy it until he could see Gilbert. He tried not to feel sad, because he'd already been told by Gilbert that he might not make it. Still, he couldn't help but be on the verge of tears.

"Hey Michelle, have you seen Gilbert?" he asked the islander girl, passing her in the hallway.

"No.. wait, actually I did! He was with some of our classmates in the hallway on the other side. They just got back from an arcade or something." she answered, smiling.

"Arcade?" Lovino was confused at this statement. Maybe she had mistaken him for someone else.

"Yup! They went into town to play at that huge arcade. I was offered to go since I've never been but-" Lovino had already started running in the direction she had told him.

_She's a damn liar. There's no way.._

But when he arrived, he was shocked to see Gilbert and the classmates talking and laughing together. As he confronted them, Gilbert turned his head and smiled.

"Hey Lovi! Man, you should've been there with us-"

"At the arcade?" he finished Gilbert's sentence, staring very hatefully at the other students.

"Yeah! How did you.." trailing off, he suddenly remembered about the play.

"..Hope you had fun," tears starting to fall from his trembling green eyes, he ran away as fast as he could, ignoring the calling of his name.

"Damn, I can't find Lovi anywhere. I've already checked the classrooms, dorms, and lounge. Twice!" Gilbert sighed loudly, kicking up some dirt.

"That's not my problem~" Francis said in a rather teasing voice as he sharpened his fingernails, "you're the one that decided to ditch and go to some arcade."

"And that's why I want to apologize to him! I had completely forgotten.. It's been 2 hours already and he's no where to be found," beginning to worry, Gilbert paced back and forth.

"Then check around out here? According to what you've said, you only checked inside~"

"Good idea!" running off, he checked around almost the entire school until he finally came upon what he had been looking for.

Lovino was crouching down in front of a flower bed, playing around with the dying flowers of the cold season that signaled the coming of Winter. Approaching slowly, Gilbert didn't want the boy to run off again before he was able to apologize.

"Hey, Lovi?" he called out in a soft, apologetic voice.

Lovino froze, still crouched. He didn't even so much as turn his head.

"I'm very sorry.. for missing the play, ya know? That was so not awesome of me, but I'll make it up to you! So how about we go inside and warm up togeth-" but suddenly, Lovino stood up and faced him.

"JUST GO AWAY! You're just like the rest of them.. I _hate_ you!" running off again, tears staining his face, he left the stunned German standing there, alone.

_Shit! Why did I say that.. It's too late to turn around now._

It pained him deeply to hear that coming from Lovino's mouth. He was used to people calling him all kinds of names when he annoyed them, but for Lovino to use that one specific word, it was almost overbearing.

**Hate. Hate. **_**Hate. **_

It repeated into his mind, eating away at his soul. Gilbert couldn't accept this, he wouldn't. He snapped out of it, and summed up the courage to find Lovino and makes things right. Even if he had to force the kid to listen to him, he would do so. He would give anything to see Lovino's smiling face and big, beautiful eyes right now.

Gilbert walked into the direction he remembered seeing the boy run off to. He thought of all the things he wanted to say to him. It would be scary, but he had to do it. He took longer strides as he gained the confidence to pour all of his feelings out to his crush. Finally, as he turned a corner, he spotted Lovino-

In the arms of Antonio.

He froze. His body began to feel hundreds of pounds heavier. He didn't realize he had stopped breathing until his brain forced his lungs to start working again. Standing there, confused, he stared at Antonio's arms wrapped around Lovino's small waist. He observed how Lovino's face was buried into Antonio's chest. He watched in horror as Antonio began to gently stroke Lovino's head.

Gilbert didn't want this. He didn't want to see his best friend comforting his crush. Feeling as if his heart was about to shatter into an infinite amount of pieces, he turned around and walked away, giving up.

"Can you stop hugging me now?" Lovino mumbled from being smothered into Antonio's chest.

"Ah, sorry! My instincts took over when I saw you standing here alone, crying." Antonio let go of Lovino and smiled at him.

"Thanks.. but I'm fine." But he wasn't fine at all, he felt unbelievably guilty. As angry as he had been, he didn't want it to turn out like this.

* * *

><p>The next day seemed to last a thousand years. At breakfast, neither Lovino nor Gilbert spoke. They hardly even ate their food. Trying to light the mood, Francis told them juicy gossip that he found out about the staff of the school but neither of them even remotely listened. All through class, Lovino couldn't stop thinking about those cruel words he had said to his own best friend. Gilbert continued to see the images of Lovino and Antonio in his head all day.<p>

Lunch came, and it was just as awkward as breakfast. This time they all sat in silence. The depression and tension of Lovino and Gilbert had spread to both Francis and Antonio. Finally, the Spaniard had an idea.

"Hey, let's play soccer after this! We don't have afternoon classes because of Winter break, and it's surprisingly warm today so we shouldn't miss the chance!" said Antonio, smiling at all of them.

"I have better things to do." Lovino instantly answered as he got up to throw away his almost untouched food. The three of them watched as he then walked off.

_What should I do? This can't go on forever. It hurts so much.._

Sulking to himself, it was the third cycle Lovino had been walking around the school. Every time he tried not to think about Gilbert, it got worse. He wanted to scream out, he wished there was a magical fairy that could grant him happiness or a button to rewind and stop himself from saying what he had.

_Why do I feel so shitty.. It was his fault! And I was angry.._

Lovino sighed, kicking a random tree and then continued to walk.

Antonio gathered a few other students and played a game of soccer. Gilbert jumped at the chance to do anything to take his mind off of what had happened yesterday. Even so, he couldn't fully concentrate on anything that he did. And so he tripped.

"Hey Gil, are you alright?" Antonio went over to his side and held out his hand to help lift him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine.." he said, ignoring the hand and standing up on his own, "just sprained my ankle is all."

"That's no good! I'll walk you to the nurse's office." Antonio said as he tried to help.

"No! It's just a little sprained. Stop bugging me as if you're my mom." Gilbert snarled back.

Antonio frowned then shrugged to himself before going back to continue the game.

"Go to the office anyway, or I'll carry you there myself~" Francis told him, examining his ankle.

"Fine, damn. Just leave me alone.." and he began to limp his way inside.

"Now, this should be easy," smiling to himself, Francis walked off to find his target.

Lovino wiped away a stray tear and continued to sulk, staring at a big rock. He thought about how much fun it would be to pick it up and chuck it at a window. He'd then get suspended or even better, expelled. Then no one would have to deal with him anymore. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice call him from behind.

"Lovi! Lovinoooo!" Francis ran towards him, breathing hard and looking worried, "something's wrong with Gilbert!" he shouted.

"WHAT? !" Lovino's face turned pale as his eyes widened, staring at the French guy.

"We were playing soccer, and he just collapsed! Then he wouldn't wake up! I left to find and tell you before I could hear if he was alright or not," Francis explained, keeping his act up.

Grabbing Francis by the shirt, Lovino glared at him and asked in a rather frightening voice, "Where IS he? !"

Trembling a little, Francis answered, "He's in the nurse's office-" and Lovino let go of his grip, sprinting frantically into the building.

"That went rather well.. Now they'll have to make up!" smirking, Francis gave himself a round of applause.

Bumping into a few people along the way, Lovino continued to sprint, a million thoughts going through his head. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something terrible had happened to Gilbert, knowing the last words he said to the him were spiteful. He couldn't stand not knowing, and tried not to think about it as he neared the door to the office. Swiftly swinging the door open, he ran inside.

"GILBERT!" he yelled as he caught sight of the German sitting on a nearby bed. Running over to him, he looked up and down Gilbert's body to see if he was deeply injured.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can you speak? !" he asked as he examined Gilbert's head.

"…Yeah?" looking so very confused, Gilbert stared at the frantic boy.

"Where's the damn nurse? How useless! Should I call 911? !" Lovino began searching his pocket for his cell phone.

"It's just a sprained ankle! See?" lifting up his leg to assure the boy, he tried to calm him down. "So don't make unnecessary phone calls!"

"But.. Francis said.. You had collapsed and wouldn't wake up! I was so scared.." Lovino started to tear up.

"Wow, now that's what I call over exaggerating.." Gilbert shook his head, "well he lied, I'm fine. So you should go now."

"Eh?" looking at Gilbert, he could see something was different.

"I said I'm fine, so leave."

Lovino stared into his red eyes. Usually beaming, they seemed so dull now, and his expression was so cold. It frightened Lovino.

"But.. still.." he didn't want to leave, but he felt so unwelcome.

"It must be hard, being around someone you _hate_. It'd be best if you left, then." Gilbert said, his voice unwavering.

"I DON'T HATE YOU!" Lovino blurted out as his eyes released all of the tears he'd held in that day.

"But you said-"

"I didn't mean it, damn it! I was angry, I was hurt, frustrated.. I didn't mean it!" he continued to cry, wrapping his limp arms around Gilbert's neck, "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. so please don't be like that!"

Gilbert listened as the smaller boy cried and apologized on his shoulder. He suddenly didn't feel broken inside anymore. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist and pulled the weeping boy into his lap.

"Shhh, it's alright," he whispered into Lovino's ear, "I'm sorry, too. I wish I had seen you on stage, I bet you were wonderful," he smiled as he gently rubbed the boy's back, "and I'm glad you didn't mean it when you said you hated me. My heart would have shattered, and you can't fix shattered things."

"So.. We're still friends?" Lovino asked a few minutes later, after he calmed down.

"The best of friends!" he answered then added, "What would you have done if I really was hurt~?"

Blushing deeply, Lovino then took his finger and lightly thumped Gilbert on the forehead, "Don't ever scare me like that again, jerk.."

"Kesesese~ I won't! It's a promise," he laughed, grabbing Lovino's hand and softly planting a kiss on it.

As they walked out of the Nurse's office, Lovino noticed a sign on the wall.

"Oh yeah, Gilbert. Are you going to the Winter ball?" he asked, pointing to the poster.

"Nah, I'm way too awesome for something so corny.. Besides, I don't have a date." he answered as he kept walking.

"What about that Elizaveta chick? The one you're always messing with.."

Gilbert let out a loud laugh, "Her? No way~ Besides, she's going with Roderich. And even if I _did_ want to go with her, she'd probably smack me in the face with a frying pan!"

"Well! I think you should go anyway, because I'm going.." Lovino blushed, trying not to stutter, "And.. and we could eat all the good free food there! Then laugh at the weird outfits people will be wearing, and the weird music, and.." he trailed off, looking down as he twiddled with his fingers.

"Oh? Are you asking _me_ to the Winter ball~?" smirking, Gilbert started to reconsider.

"N-NO! Bastard! I mean.. it's something to do.. it'll be fun!" Lovino's face looked like a tomato again.

"Alright, I'll go. On one condition." he gave in, walking towards Lovino.

"What?" smiling excitedly now, Lovino was glad he had managed to convince Gilbert.

"You must teach me how to dance."

* * *

><p>"No no! You're doing it wrong! If you do it like that, you'll bump into a bunch of bastards!" trying to teach Gilbert how to dance, Lovino grew impatient and only ended up yelling at his mistakes.<p>

"When I move my left foot forward, you move your right foot back… good, good.. No no now you're doing it wrong again!" Again, he began to yell.

"Maybe I would learn something if you stopped yelling at me, Lovi~" he found it cute the way Lovino got frustrated, but his ears began to hurt from the constant yelling and they weren't getting anything done.

"Well what am I supposed to do, then?" Lovino sighed, he thought of himself as a good teacher but nothing was working.

"First off, don't yell. Try being gentle, and let me lead?" Gilbert suggested, holding out his hand.

"Fine.." he said, grabbing onto Gilbert's hand and they began to dance again.

"Hmm, you're doing good now.." Lovino complimented him, "why is that?"

"Because, the Awesome Gilbert is a leader! Not a follower," he said, laughing as he quickly spun Lovino around and pulled him back closely, "don't worry, I won't let you fall~"

They continued to practice for a couple more songs. As the music got slower, Lovino rested his arms on Gilbert's shoulder. Wrapping both of his arms now around Lovino's waist, Gilbert smiled.

"Slow songs are so much easier to dance to! But they're still corny~"

"There won't always be slow songs, so you have to know what you're doing." Lovino was serious when it came to dancing, it was in his Italian blood!

"I know, I know.. But I like dancing with you like this," he said, slowly sliding his hand up and down Lovino's back.

Resting his head against Gilbert's chest, he could hear the heartbeat of the silly guy. It went in sync with his own heart, which he felt was beginning to beat faster.

"Gilbert.." groaning embarrassingly, Lovino looked up into Gilbert's eyes, who was smiling sweetly at him.

"Lovino~" he teased, brushing Lovino's bangs out of his eyes with one hand.

Lovino felt a tingling sensation up his spine as Gilbert slowly inched his face towards his. Suddenly, the door swung open.

"Ve~! Brother, I'm so bored!" Feliciano complained, then seeing what was going on before him, he smiled, "I want to dance, too!"

As expected, Lovino went into rage mode and yelled at Feliciano, cursing him out in Italian.

"Lovi, it's no big deal~ We've practiced enough for today. I'll see you later," smiling and patting the crying Feliciano on the head, Gilbert left.

A couple days later it was time for the Winter ball. Lovino wore his best dress shirt and tie, then helped Feliciano pick something out, as the young boy was too excited to remember to do it the night before. The night sky was filled with stars that lit the way towards the ballroom.

"And don't embarrass yourself, alright? And definitely **don't** embarrass me." Lovino had finished explaining the rules to his brother before letting him wander off in the large room.

Looking around, Lovino was disappointed to see that practically everyone who was there also had a date.

"Lovi! You look so handsome~" Antonio said smiling, as he suddenly came out of no where with his date.

"Wow, you do clean up nicely!" said Belle.

Blushing, Lovino thanked them and told them to go dance because that's what the Winter ball was for. Looking around again, he spotted Francis and his date, Michelle. He couldn't believe even that flirtatious baboon managed to get a date and he hadn't. It wasn't as fun as he thought it would be, because everyone had dressed nicely and he found it hard to laugh at anyone.

Throwing a bunch of random snacks onto his plate, he tasted every single one of them before deciding he wasn't even hungry. It seemed that everything he wanted to do turned out to be a drag. Suddenly, he spotted Gilbert near the dance floor.

_Where's he going? He's supposed to be over here with me.._

He then watched as Gilbert asked to cut in between Roderich and Elizaveta. Letting him, Roderich stepped away as Gilbert began to dance with the beautiful girl. Lovino stared, unamused as Gilbert danced and talked to her, causing her to laugh and sometimes even blush. It made him feel sick to his stomach, and so he turned around and grabbed a random piece of cake to shove into his mouth.

After a minute of trying to decide what he'll shove down his throat next, someone suddenly pulled his arm, turning him around.

"May I have this dance~?" Gilbert asked, smiling and pulling him to the dance floor before giving him a chance to answer.

"Gilbert, people will see us.." blushing, Lovino tried to go back to where he was.

"I don't care what they think, it's a dance so you have to dance~ It doesn't matter if neither of us are wearing a dress," placing Lovino's arms around his neck, he then held onto the shy boy's waist.

Dancing and laughing together, Lovino soon felt as if they were the only two in that huge ballroom, or even in the whole world. He enjoyed gazing up into those bright red eyes that stared back at him. Their bodies began to float, or so it seemed, up into the shining night sky. They danced in between the stars, holding each other close, never letting go. He leaned in to listen to the sound of that heartbeat again, this time it seemed to beat with the rhythm of the music. Smiling to himself, he sighed contently.

"Um, Lovi?" came a familiar voice.

"Hm?" he looked up into the beautiful face of the albino.

"The music stopped~" Gilbert smiled as Lovino still held onto him.

Looking around, Lovino saw that the dance floor was mostly empty now, as they were moving onto one of the main events of the night.

"Y-Yeah.." letting go of Gilbert, Lovino could feel his face burning heavily with embarrassment. Suddenly, he felt his chest cringe. His stomach also began to feel as if it were floating in midair, and he lost his breath.

"You alright, Lovi?" Gilbert questioned, seeing the odd expression on the Italian's face.

"Oh.. Excuse me, I need some fresh air.." Lovino managed to say, quickly exiting the ballroom.

Gilbert shrugged and went back to the table of food.

Outside, Lovino sat on the steps leading to the entrance of the ballroom, panting heavily. He could feel his head swelling up like a balloon. Calmly, he tried inhaling and exhaling as slow as he could manage.

_Am I.. dying? _

It was the first time he had ever felt that way, it confused him and he couldn't handle the feeling.

The feeling that they call love.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yeah! Lovino got all jealous because Gilbert was paying attention to Feli~ Awww. He was really looking forward to being watched in the play by Gilbert. But Gilbert was so stressed out, he forgot all about it (Lovi wasn't talking to him really so he wasn't reminded either) and accepted the classmate's invitation to relax. Aaaaand that's how it got so emotional. **

**Reviews and criticism are welcome, of course. And sorry for any misspellings or bad grammar, I checked but there might still be some lurking, I'm so exhausted now.. gotta think of the new chapter. It may be short, and I think this story will have a total of 7 chapters, not sure.**


	5. Graduation, Short Goodbyes

**A/N: Aaand here it is. It took me longer than I expected because I had to make up some ideas on the spot again. But it was fun. I think the next chapter will be short, as I had originally thought this one would be really short. But this is about the average length, although shorter than my others.. Idk.**

**Anywho! Review, Criticize, Enjoy~ (if you can)**

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><p>The end of Winter marks the end of the school year, but also the beginning of Graduation for seniors. While some are anxious, excited, and joyous, others are only saddened to leave the place that has been their home for many years. Parting with friends is never easy, and neither are goodbyes.<p>

"I want to grow my own tomato field, as a farmer!" Antonio exclaimed, determined. "Then, I'll let you guys come by and eat some for free!"

"Sounds good to me," licking his lips, Lovino imagined biting into a freshly grown tomato, straight from the field.

"What about you, Francis? Hair stylist?" Antonio asked as he faced towards his French buddy.

"As sexy as my hair is, I'd rather be the top chef of a five star French restaurant, serving dishes that can cost up to a hundred bucks~" Francis smiled deceivingly as he casually flipped his hair.

"Oh, I'll make sure to never go there, then." Lovino teased, rolling his eyes.

"Ohonhon~ I'll make sure to give you discounts!"

"What do you plan to do, Gilbert?" asked Lovino, curious as to what the German looked forward to in his future.

"I don't know." was Gilbert's dull reply.

"You have to think about your future, Gil! What lies ahead is just as important as right now~" trying to sound encouraging, Antonio poked Gilbert on the cheek and smiled.

"Well, I'm not sure what I want to do, either. I don't have any talents or hobbies.." Lovino began to worry that he'd end up being just another useless blob.

"Sure you do, Lovi! You just need to look deep within yourself. Feel the energy flow and-"

"Toni, please. Stop trying to sound like a wise old wizard." Francis sighed, quite irritated of Antonio's nonsense.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind entering the Mafia and becoming the Godfather." Lovino said, trying to sound badass. The other three only stared at him in disbelief. "I was just joking, damn.."

"Welp! That's enough daydreaming for now, let's get to Gymnasium, they're screening a movie soon!" Antonio suggested.

Lovino was happy that classes were almost nonexistent because senior graduation was only a couple days away. They got to spend lots of more time together, watching movies and playing games. It took his mind away from the fact that soon, his best friends would all leave him. No longer being in high school, they would move on with their lives instead of living there with him, at the academy he used to hate so much.

Getting up from the bench, Lovino turned around to see Gilbert was still sitting there, staring off into space.

"Gilbert? Aren't you coming?" he asked, waiting for his albino friend.

"Oh, yeah!" looking up at the Italian, he smiled.

* * *

><p>The next day, Lovino lazily got up from his bed, wondering how he had gotten there. He then remembered he'd stayed up really late, talking and joking with the three older boys. He also remembered the dark hallway, floating down the stairs, and leaning onto something warm with fuzzy white hair. It was Gilbert, carrying the small boy to his dorm room, on his back. He remembered entering the room, being gently put down on his bed, and tucked in with a kiss on the forehead.<p>

_A kiss?_

No, that couldn't have been right. He must have imagined it. After all, he was half asleep.

At least, that's what he told himself.

After he finished his morning routine and whatnot, he went outside to the courtyard. Spotting Gilbert sitting under the same large tree from so long ago, he ran over.

"Where are the other two meatheads?" Lovino asked, looking around for Antonio and Francis.

"They're cleaning out their room. Said they wanted to do it before graduation or something." Gilbert answered as he continued to stare up into the sky.

Lovino sat down and ate a tomato he had picked up on his way there. Looking down, he gazed at a beautiful white flower that stood up from the grass, it was almost Spring again. He giggled to himself as he remembered the day he had awoken from his nap and found the same flower in the side of his hair. He then blushed when he thought of the moment that Gilbert pulled his curl, causing him to storm off. With a shake of his head, he avoided remembering the events that had happened after that.

"Gilbert!" he yelled at the German sitting next to him.

"What?" Gilbert was surprised at Lovino's sudden outburst.

"Listen when people are talking to you, damn it! I called your name like five times, jerk.." Lovino stared at him, wondering why he didn't listen.

"Really? Oh, sorry.." apologizing, he returned to staring up into the sky.

"Look at me, idiot," grabbing Gilbert's sleeve, he stared into his red eyes and asked, "what's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" Gilbert looked back at him, clueless.

"Don't play dumb, you've been acting weird all week! So what's the matter?"

"Kesesese~ Nothing's the matter! You worry too much~" he laughed, patting Lovino's head.

"You're lying. Why are you acting this way?" frowning, Lovino wouldn't let go of his sleeve.

"Seriously, Lovi. I don't know what you're talking-"

"Don't lie! Whenever I'm sad or angry, you always listen to what I have to say and then cheer me up.. why won't you let me do the same?" Lovino didn't like it when Gilbert was distant. Whenever he'd try to help, Gilbert pretended that nothing was wrong and dealt with it himself. "Friends rely on each other.."

"Geez Lovi, I'm sorry so don't get upset.." he smiled, "I'm just, uhh, nervous! Yeah, about graduation and leaving this place… and leaving you."

"Well.. I'm going to miss you being here, too," Lovino blushed deeply, "but you can visit! And on the weekends, we can hang out in town! I've already told Antonio and Francis this."

"…Yeah. So umm, don't worry your pretty little head anymore~" smiling, he pinched Lovino's cheek.

"Okay, okay.." resting his head on Gilbert's shoulder, they sat there under the tree and reminisced about all of their adventures of the past year.

Sitting in their room, Antonio and Francis discussed where they wanted to go after graduation and the things they'd like to do before they became elderly or died. Suddenly, there came a knock at the door.

"Oh hey, Gil! We can't play games tonight, graduation is tomorrow!" Antonio said as he welcomed the albino inside.

"Relax, I'm not here to beat you with my awesome gaming skills. I just wanna chat for a bit." he bragged as he sat down in a chair.

"Anyways, I want to buy some of the land on the outskirts, west of this town. It'd be good for growing tomatoes! And I wouldn't have to leave you guys behind~" Antonio smiled brightly.

"How are you supposed to just buy land and become a farmer? That costs a lot of time and money." Francis tried explaining to the excited guy.

"Well! I'll get a job while I'm in college, then become a farmer!" he continued to smile, not giving up hope.

"If that's what you really want. I'm going to a culinary school, not too far from here." noticing Gilbert was quite silent, Francis added, "How about you, Gilbert?"

"..I'm going back to my homeland."

* * *

><p>Walking outside in the moonlight, Lovino had decided to take a stroll. He needed to plan out how he would say goodbye to the three whom he treasured in his heart. He didn't want to cry, but he also wanted to sound meaningful. He wished deeply that he could graduate with them, so he wouldn't be alone. High school would most likely go back to be the hell that he loathed.<p>

"Ugh! This is so damn bothersome.." he said aloud to himself. When it would be his turn to graduate, he wondered how he would feel. Ecstatic? Probably. Emotional? Not really. He didn't understand how some people could make such a huge deal out of it. It was depressing.

He walked back into the dorms, giving up on what he had been thinking about.

_I'll just say whatever comes to mind at that moment._

As he walked down the corridor leading to his room, he noticed a figure, slumped down outside of his door. Worried at first, he then realized it was Gilbert, waiting for him to return from his stroll.

"Gilbert?" Lovino called out as he walked towards his room.

"Oh hey, I was waiting for ya," he quickly stood up from the floor and moved aside.

Looking at Gilbert from head to toe, Lovino could tell that he was slightly shaking. His eyes seemed as if they were twitching, looking at everything other than his direction. He especially avoided eye contact.

"Are you alright?" Lovino asked, very concerned.

"Oh, yeah.. I was just.. yeah." Gilbert answered as he continued to fidget.

_He isn't making any sense.._

"Well.. Did you have something to say to me?" he suggested, trying to help him.

"Uh.. I wanted to say goodnight and.. Well goodnight." With a disappointed expression, Gilbert slowly began to walk away.

"Wait," grabbing his sleeve, Lovino turned him around, "Maybe we should.. sleep together tonight?"

Blushing, Gilbert smiled and agreed, "Yeah, I'd like that."

As they lay, huddled together in Lovino's bed, they listened to the gentle breeze just outside the window from which the moonlight shown through. Lovino smiled to himself, remembering how just last year he had slept in Gilbert's bed during Spring break. Although it had been quite awhile since then, he instantly recognized the same warmth he felt now that he had back then. It was unbelievably comfortable, and he wished that he could savor this feeling, just a bit longer.

"Lovi?"

"Yeah?" he answered, turning to face Gilbert.

"What would you do if I died?"

"What the hell? ! What are you saying?" his eyes widened, surprised at the sudden question.

"Relax, I'm not dying. I was just wondering.." he said, gazing into Lovino's eyes.

"Well don't wonder about shit like that! I don't want to think about it.." he shivered at the thought, and pulled the blanket up to his face.

"Alright, Lovi~" Gilbert chuckled and then showed a more serious expression, "Tomorrow is.. It, huh?"

"Yeah.. Are you afraid?" Lovino was curious of Gilbert's thoughts.

Gilbert sighed, then nodded.

"It's okay to be afraid.." Lovino said, trying to reassure his friend.

"I don't think I've ever been more afraid in my entire life." Gilbert laughed a little and shook his head in disbelief, "The Awesome Gilbert is losing his touch~"

Lovino smiled, reaching out to grab Gilbert's hand under the covers, he held onto it. "Well, the Awesome Gilbert and the Badass Lovino can get through anything!"

"You? Badass?" he yawned.

"Duh."

"You'll save me..?" closing his eyes, Gilbert began to quickly fall asleep.

"I will."

Lovino watched as Gilbert soundly slept. He thought the sleeping man looked like an angel, with his innocent sleeping face and his white hair glowing in the moonlight. Slowly, he reached over and pulled the blanket up over Gilbert's shoulder to keep him warm.

"Lovi…" Gilbert moaned in his sleep.

Lovino giggled silently and closed his own eyes, happy thoughts in mind.

And so they lay, fast asleep, hand in hand.

* * *

><p>Right before the graduation ceremony, Gilbert stood alone in his dorm room, gazing around at his surroundings. He stared at the desk he frequently used, usually covered in loose papers and candy wrappings, it was empty now. Glancing at the window, he remembered how instead of doing his homework or studying, he would stare through the glass at the many people that would walk by or the birds that sang in the tree, directly across. He even examined the small crack in the wall from when his roommate, Vash, had gotten incredibly angry at him.<p>

"There you are! Everyone is waiting for you, you know that?" Francis called from the doorway.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'll miss this old room~ Despite all the times I felt like it was a prison cell." Gilbert smiled as he walked out.

"So, you.. and Lovi..?"

"Oh, uhh.. yeah." Gilbert looked down, feeling very guilty.

"Well then, I hope he took it well." sighing, Francis gave Gilbert a big pat on the back.

Lovino, Feliciano, and Ludwig attended the graduation ceremony and watched in amazement at how many seniors in caps and gowns crowded the area.

"Wow~! I never knew there were so many seniors here~" Feliciano gazed excitedly, "I wish I could wear one of those funny hats!"

"Shut up, it's a ceremony, not a party." Lovino reminded him, although he did want to laugh at how silly they all looked.

"Ah, I see my brother is next to get his diploma." Ludwig said.

Lovino instantly averted his attention to the stage as Gilbert received his diploma.

"You must be really proud, Luddy! And you two, brother!" Feliciano said, staring at Lovino.

Without realizing it, Lovino had been happily smiling the entire time.

After the ceremony and getting a million pictures taken, Antonio and Francis met up with Lovino.

"Congrats, you two." blushing, Lovino handed them each a decorated envelope.

"Ohhh! What's this?" Antonio smiled, trying to open it.

"Don't open it now! They're letters.. I wrote each of you a letter."

"Such a sweet gesture~ Thanks, Lovi," said Francis as they each gave him a hug.

"Where's Gilbert?" looking around, Lovino could not see him anywhere.

"Didn't you two already say your goodbyes last night..?" Francis asked, confused.

"No? I didn't think he was leaving so soon."

"Oh.. Well, he went to the front gate some time ago, to wait for his taxicab." Antonio said as he pointed towards the direction Gilbert had went.

"What..?" but Lovino didn't have time for answers, he left the two standing there as he darted towards the front gate.

"Hey.. Do you think Gilbert even told Lovi about it?" Antonio asked, turning to Francis.

"Judging by the look on Lovi's face.. I don't think he did."

Lovino raced towards the front gate, hoping he wasn't too late. There was so much he didn't understand, and only Gilbert would be able to make the situation clear to him.

_Don't tell me he's already gone!_

As he finally came upon the gate, he didn't see anyone there.

"Shit!" he yelled out, kicking the gate.

"Lovi?" a startled albino appeared from around the corner.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lovino began to yell again as he opened and went through the gate, "Don't tell me you were _actually_ going to run off without saying goodbye, bastard!"

Walking up, he stood in front of Gilbert. "And what's this about a cab? Why are you in such a rush to-"

Suddenly, Gilbert leant down, pressing his lips firmly against the confused Italian's, shutting him up. Grabbing his back and pulling him into a tight hug, he continued to kiss Lovino until he couldn't breathe.

Finally pulling away, he gazed at the sweet face of the furiously blushing boy. He would miss looking into those beautiful green eyes, seeing that smiling face, and hearing that cute voice.

Smiling, Gilbert began to speak, "That's a thanks for sticking with me all this time, despite everything. It's.. also a goodbye. I'm going back to my homeland, and I don't know when I'll come back." Gently rubbing his hand against Lovino's cheek, he continued, "I was going to tell you last night but I was afraid.. It's not easy saying goodbye, which is why I tried to leave without saying it just now. I'm sorry.."

Suddenly, the sound of the taxicab came swiftly around the corner and stopped in front of the curb.

"I don't blame you if you don't want to speak with me again. But just so you know.. I love you, Lovino." Slowly placing a kiss on Lovino's forehead, he then grabbed his belongings and got into the cab. Sitting in the seat, Gilbert buried his face into his lap.

Lovino still stood there in shock, unable to react. As he stared at the cab driving off and disappearing from sight, tears began to flow from his eyes like that of a rapid river. He felt weak beyond belief, and collapsed onto the ground.

_No, Gilbert.. don't leave me here.. I need you!_

He began sobbing so loudly, it scared a flock of birds in a nearby tree. Feeling like a broken puppet, he was unable to move from the spot in which he had just lost his most precious thing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: WHYYY GILBERTTT! T_T And now we see why he was acting strange..**

**So yeah, I was thinking maybe Gilbert went back to Germany to live with his grandfather "Old Fritz" for the short remainder of the dying man's days. It was a promise he'd made to the old guy before he went off to live at the academy. Ludwig stayed though because... uhh... he's adopted! Yeah yeah.. that explains why he and Gilbert don't look alike! And because he wanted to stay with Feli to take care of him. Although he does miss his big brother an awful lot~**

**Hang in there Lovi! Don't give up! **


	6. Missing You

**A/N: Oh no! I forgot what I had written up here.. stupid ass page logged me out before I saved. FFFFFFF- Anyways um, this isn't the end! I wanted to show some more interactions between them both before the grand finale! Aka next chapter. So, this isn't much. Sorry if I disappoint...**

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><p>Every day seemed to be the same. Glancing from the window, one could see many trees, plants, and flowers that started to bloom and grow brightly as the awakening of Spring neared. It was a beautiful sight to see, so beautiful any normal person would gasp at the royal gift of nature. It was true art. Even so, Lovino found it sickening.<p>

_You said you loved me.. So why did you leave me?_

He had been gazing through his bedroom window for hours now. In fact, he had spent the past few days in there, alone. Thinking to himself, hurting inside, crying, that was all he could do.

_At least take me with you.._

Looking up at a nearby tree, he watched as a couple of birds tended to their nest. They worked hard together to feed and protect the hungry baby birds. Glancing at another branch of the huge tree, he saw a couple of squirrels sharing an acorn. It all seemed to be one huge annoying coincidence.

_I hate nature._

"Ve~ Big brother? I brought you some delicious pasta~" came Feliciano, knocking on the door. He had started delivering food to Lovino everyday because if he hadn't, his brother would have starved to death. He would only leave his room to soak himself in the shower for hours, trying to drown away his feelings.

"You don't have to knock.." Lovino answered, sluggishly.

Opening the door, Feliciano entered the room with a big plate of hot pasta and sat it on a nearby desk.

"Oh no, I forgot the juice! I'll be right back~" he exclaimed as he began to walk towards the exit.

"It's alright, Feli. Thanks." Sitting at the desk, Lovino slowly began to eat.

"Okay.. Are you sleeping well, brother? You have dark marks under your eyes." Feliciano began to examine his pale, emotionless face.

"Yeah." he answered as he ate another bite of the pasta.

"So! Since classes start again next week, I was thinking we should go to town and buy some supplies! The school ones are always so lame~" he smiled, rubbing Lovino's head.

"Yeah."

"And maybe we could get new clothes to wear, you know, for when we're not in class!" he imagined himself looking cool in a new pair of pants and shoes.

"Yeah."

"Oh! And then when we're done we can get some delicious gelato! I'll have to invite Luddy, too~" he said excitedly as he looked at his brother for a different reply.

"Yeah." came his dull reply again, as he finished his food.

Feliciano was shocked to see that Lovino had just agreed to let Ludwig come along. Usually, he didn't want to do anything that involved the younger German. He wondered if Lovino had even been listening to him.

"Brother?" he began to stare at Lovino, concerned.

"Hm? Oh, sorry.. Thanks for the meal." Lovino stood up and went back to sitting on his bed.

Walking over to the bed, Feliciano sat beside him and slowly began to rub his back. He began humming an Italian nursery rhyme that their grandfather would sing to them when they were toddlers.

"You.. remember that song?" surprised, Lovino looked at him.

"Of course! It's a very special song~" he smiled, then continued to hum.

The song had a very calm aura about it, it relaxed Lovino. He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head on Feliciano's shoulder.

"You know, brother.. It's okay to cry." Feliciano whispered, after a few minutes of humming softly.

"Feli.. I think I've run out of tears."

* * *

><p>A rather silent, but seemingly long year passed. Francis stood in the kitchen of his lavish apartment building, examining his cooking ingredients for tomorrow's test at the culinary school. He saw himself as the top student in his class, so he was quite certain that he'd ace the test anyway. Breaking his concentration, his phone rang.<p>

"S'il te plait! I need to concentrate!" irritated at how it continued to ring, he decided to answer it. Picking it up, he gasped when he saw the name.

"Gilbert! My love~ You haven't called me in over a month! Care to explain yourself?" he pestered.

"Kesesese~ Sorry bro, but can you do me a favor?" Gilbert laughed on the other side of the line.

"Hm? A favor? You know I only give favors out to those that offer me a reward~"

"I'm serious! Gather Antonio.. and Lovino at the arcade tonight! But keep it a secret and don't tell them that I told you to. Okay, bye!" Gilbert said, but very fast.

"Wait wait wait! Why should I do that?" Francis asked before he hung up.

"Because! I'm back in town."

Sitting on the couch, Antonio took another sip of his soda. He then smiled at Lovino, who was sitting next to him.

"So, after the glue dries, we're done?" He had been helping the Italian with his end-of-the-year project. It was a long process but they worked together and he was sure Lovino would pass.

"Yeah, thanks for the help, I know you had better things to do.."

"Nonsense! I'm happy to help my little Lovi~ Well you're not so little anymore, you'll be a senior next month." Antonio frowned as he rubbed Lovino's head, he still remembered when the boy used to ride on his back.

"Well, won't Belle be jealous when she learns you ditched to finish helping me?" Lovino said, flinching a little as the Spaniard continued to fondle his head.

"Huh? Why would she be jealous? She knows you're my best friend, and she's my other best friend!" he smiled.

"Geez, you're so dense.." Lovino sighed as he tried to get up from the couch, only to get pulled back down.

"Lovi~ Cuddle with me, you're so soft!" pulling him into a hug, Antonio continued to stroke his head.

"Stop, damn it.." he frowned, trying to pull himself away.

"Not until you smile! You're always so gloomy~" He then took his fingers and pushed Lovino's cheeks up into a smile, "See? You have a gorgeous smile! Use it more often~"

Almost immediately, Lovino forcefully pushed Antonio away and stood up.

"Don't repeat what _he _said." glaring at Antonio, he trembled a little.

"Lovi..? Did I do something wrong?" the Spaniard asked, confused.

"Sorry.. I just can't.." Lovino looked down, trying not to remember the past. Suddenly, his phone beeped.

"Oh, my phone beeped too!" Antonio said, checking his cell phone.

It was a message from Francis, asking to meet at the arcade later that evening. He accepted, but only because it would get his mind off of what had just happened.

* * *

><p>"If all you wanted to do was chat, eat pizza, and drink soda, we could've done that at your place or something, stupid bastard." Lovino complained. He didn't like leaving the school campus unnecessarily, so he only did so to visit Antonio or Francis at their apartments. That school year he had become one of the top students in his classes. To distract himself from the loneliness, he poured all of his time into studying and reading. He found that he actually liked learning new things, and even managed to make a couple of acquaintances.<p>

"Don't be so grumpy, love~" Francis teased, then gently slapped Lovino's butt.

"One, It's LOVI. Two, I'm going to take this fork and jam it right up your-"

All was silent when the door suddenly opened, and there stood the familiar figure of an old friend: fuzzy white hair, bright red eyes, and the usual mischievous smirk on his face.

"Gilbert? ! Mi amigo!" Antonio broke the silence, running over to squeeze the albino who seemed to have been gone forever.

"Sur..prise-" Gilbert managed to mumble from being so tightly squeezed.

"Gil~ You finally made it! It was hard to keep it a secret, you know. You'll have to repay me later~" Francis smiled creepily as he pulled Antonio away and got his turn to hug.

All the while, Lovino stood gazing in disbelief.

_This isn't real.. When did I fall asleep?_

He thought about slapping himself in the face as hard as he could, pinching his side until it burned, stomping on his own foot, and even pulling his own curl. He almost did, too, until a pair of red eyes met with his own. Trying to look away, he found that he couldn't. He could only stare as it came closer to him.

"Lovi.."

_It spoke.._

"I'm back.."

_It spoke again.. _

"Welcome back, bastard.." Lovino somehow managed to say. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. He felt so many different emotions inside, he didn't know which one to show. The countless times that he had dreamed of this moment, he imagined it to be so different. He expected to be angry at how he'd suddenly left and then showed up again, he expected to cry tears of joy as he was being held in those arms. But now that it was actually happening, he stopped thinking. Completely.

"I can't even begin to describe how much I've missed you!" grabbing Lovino by the waist, Gilbert quickly pulled him into a tight hug. "It's been too long," he whispered.

Without saying another word, Lovino wrapped his arms around Gilbert's back, it almost felt automatically.

_This feeling.._

It made him happy, but also sad. He hated it, but he wanted more.

"Lovi! You're.. almost as tall as me now!" Gilbert exclaimed as he examined Lovino's body.

"Oh.. Really?" He hadn't noticed at first, but he was now unable to lean his head against the albino's chest anymore because he was past his shoulders.

"I've still got a few inches on ya, though~!" he laughed, patting Lovino's slightly shorter head.

They all sat down at the table again for a while and discussed what they'd been doing the past year as they ate pizza.

"It's getting late, won't you get in trouble for breaking curfew?" Antonio asked, looking towards Lovino.

"Eh, they probably won't notice. We've got a new dorm leader, he's lazy." he answered, continuing to drink his soda.

"And if he does?" Antonio continued, he didn't want Lovino to become a delinquent.

"Then he does, damn. Stop bugging me."

"Kesesese~ Lovi, you're so mature and cool now!" Gilbert smiled brightly, patting Lovino on the back, "I see I've influenced you~"

"Bad influences are nothing to be praised!" Antonio began to lecture.

"Ugh! But tonight is a special night, damn it! You can't force me-"

"He won't stop until you give in. C'mon, I'll walk you to campus, Lovi~" grabbing Lovino's hand, Gilbert pulled him from his seat and they walked out.

"I said I didn't want to leave, damn it.." Lovino blushed as Gilbert still held onto his hand.

"I know. But this way, we can finally be alone~" he smiled as they walked together. "So.. do they know?"

"No.. I haven't told them anything." looking down, Lovino felt a bit guilty for keeping secrets from his two other best friends.

"Well then, they don't have to know right now~"

As they reached the entrance to the back gate, they stood there in silence for a few seconds. Not knowing what to say, Lovino waited for Gilbert to say something first.

"Um, Lovi-" he began, but was interrupted.

"I don't want to be here." Lovino blurted out suddenly.

"What?" looking confused, Gilbert scratched his head.

"I mean, I don't want to leave you.. yet.." He knew that if they parted for the night now, he would not be able to sleep.

Gilbert laughed and took his arm, "Then, follow me!"

He led them to a wide open grassy area and sat down, gazing up at the stars.

"Do you remember the first time we did this?" Gilbert asked.

"Yeah.. that awesome Spring break," laughing, Lovino remembered all of the crazy things they'd done those two weeks.

"Awesome indeed it was! Man.. I can't believe it was two years ago now." he sighed.

"That year, was the best school year in my entire life." Lovino smiled.

"Mine too.." he said, then added, "..Are you angry at me, for leaving?"

"When you left, back then.. everything felt so unreal," Lovino began to confess, "even all of the text messages and phone calls seemed as if I was just talking to a far away spirit.."

"Lovi.."

"And now you're suddenly back, it feels so natural.." he continued, "It's as if it was all just one big nightmare.. I can't tell what was reality and what wasn't, anymore. It frightens me.."

His head began to feel heavy. He wanted things to go back to the way they were before Gilbert had left, causing a major quake in his life. He was afraid though, of becoming attached again, only to have his happiness taken away once more. He wanted to be able to trust those red eyes again that he had longed for, but the scar on his heart held him back.

"I've got an idea!" Gilbert suddenly shouted out. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Just do it~" he smiled brightly.

"Fine.." Lovino sighed and closed his eyes.

Smirking, Gilbert leant in close and softly kissed Lovino's lips.

"Gilbert.." blushing, Lovino gazed into those red eyes that now seemed so promising.

"That's an apology, for everything I've put you through this past year. I'm sorry," he said as he gently stroked Lovino's head.

"You know, you can just apologize like a normal person.." Lovino pouted, embarrassed.

"The Awesome Gilbert isn't normal!" he laughed as he laid on his back. "And neither is the Badass Lovino~"

"You think I'm badass?" he asked, lying down next to the albino.

"Duh~"

As they stared into the sky, they began to look for different constellations.

"And over there is the Big Dipper!" Lovino excitedly pointed towards the sky.

"Yeah yeah, I see it~" Gilbert laughed, he found Lovino's reactions to be very adorable.

Putting his arm back down, his hand brushed up against Gilbert's, causing him to blush deeply.

_If I move it away fast, it'll be awkward! What do I do.._

Suddenly, Gilbert grabbed his hand and held onto it, intertwining their fingers.

_It feels so warm.._

"Lovi! A shooting star!" Gilbert shouted, he had wanted to see one for ages now, it was like a gift from the heavens above.

"I saw it too! Quick, make a wish!" Lovino shouted back, closing his eyes.

_I wish that I will always be able to spend moments like this with Gilbert.._

_I wish to have Lovino belong only to the awesome me~_

"What'd you wish for? !" Gilbert asked curiously, smiling towards Lovino.

Lovino smiled back and said, "Idiot.. I can't tell you or else it won't come true~"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yeah! Lovino basically became more of the 'Kuudere' archetype character instead of his usual 'Tsundere' self, after Gilbert left. He rarely showed any type of emotion all year, and only showed some when he was with Antonio and Francis. Only when Gilbert came back did he start to return to his old self.**

**Old Fritz died after about a year, and Gilbert went into a dark depression.. so he went back to town to see his friends and his precious love~ A few weeks after he'd left in the last chapter, he contacted Lovino. But even though they stayed in contact, talking every once in awhile on the phone or texting, it wasn't the same. But now they can see each other in person! And they have a secret little relationship going on that no one else knows about~ That is reflected in the next chapter/finale.**


	7. Valentines, My Love! Finale

**A/N: Behold! The grand finale! I'm going to miss this story.. Thank you all for your reviews, they helped me alot! Seriously! I get so happy whenever I see a new review. SO! I hope you like this, at least a little?**

**This last awesome chapter contains love, humor, sensuality, angst, stuff. Reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

><p>'Tis the season to be lovey-dovey? Lovers will love it, Loners will hate it, and some people just want to express the true feelings that they've held in for who knows how long. Either way, it's Valentine's Day and that means love, pain, and all around entertainment.<p>

"So what the hell are all of these jerks doing here?" Looking around the crafts room, Lovino glared at all of the other people from Feliciano's class that were also going to make chocolates.

"I invited them. It's much more fun with a group! Don't you agree, brother?" Feliciano smiled, turning to Lovino.

"…I'm going out to buy chocolates instead." he grumbled, leaving the room.

"Not so fast~!" Feliciano grabbed his arm and pulled him back in, "It has no meaning unless you make it by hand! Now put on this apron~" he laughed as he handed a pink apron with hearts and ruffles to Lovino.

"I'm not wearing that crap!"

"You're being difficult~ Here, I'll help you." tying the apron around Lovino's waist, he smiled, approving of the way it made his brother look so adorable.

Letting out a loud sigh, Lovino walked over to his work station and watched as Feliciano taught him how to make beautiful, heart-shaped chocolates. After a few frustrating tries, Lovino succeeded in making dozens of little treats.

"Ve~ Good job, brother! I know they'll love them~" quickly giving Lovino a light squeeze, he went back to making his own chocolates for Ludwig.

"Yeah! I'm so badass at making stuff.. Now for separating and distributing!" Lovino smiled in accomplishment as he loaded the chocolates into three separate pouches.

"An..to..nio." talking to himself, he wrote the Spaniard's name on a small Valentine's card and tied it to the pouch with a white ribbon.

"Fran..cis." He then did the same to the next one, tying it with a pink ribbon.

"Gil-" as he wrote on the third one, he suddenly stopped when he felt his heart skip a beat. Twice. Shaking it off, he finished writing and tied the pouch with a red ribbon.

Suddenly, he noticed something was odd and unbalanced. Examining the pouches thoroughly, he came to the conclusion that one seemed to have a bit more candy inside.

"Hey Feli.. does Gilbert's pouch look fuller to you?" he asked for his brother's opinion.

Looking closely for awhile, Feliciano shrugged, "They look the same to me? But even so, don't you want his to have more anyway?" he asked, innocently smiling. As Lovino intensely glared at him, he laughed nervously and went back to cooking.

"Who's this 'Gilbert' dude?" asked a curious Alfred, who had been surveying Lovino's work the entire time, "Is he that funny-looking guy with wicked eyes that you always leave to hang with?"

"None of your business." Lovino blushed, trying to ignore the guy who continued to stand there, staring.

"Oh I get it! Are you guys like, dating? Or are you just friends? Maybe even friends with benefits? !" laughing obnoxiously loud, Alfred patted Lovino on the shoulder.

"It's none of your damn business, bastard!" grabbing the pouches and storming out of the room, Lovino didn't have the answer.

_What the hell are we..?_

He wondered to himself. Even though he and Gilbert reunited and were together almost every chance they got, he wasn't sure. Gilbert would sometimes kiss on him, and hold his hand. He was generally very affectionate when he wasn't being annoying. But even after all of that, not once did he say the words 'Will you be my boyfriend' or 'Will you go out with me'.

"No time to think.. I should deliver these."

Leaving the academy, he decided to give Antonio his gift first.

"Aw, Lovi! You didn't have to give me anything. This is so sweet of you~" Antonio cheerfully ate his chocolates as he squeezed Lovino.

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome. Now stop squeezing me." glancing around the room, he noticed Antonio had many different bouquets of flowers, roses, and boxes of chocolates lying everywhere.

"Where the hell did all of this come from?" picking up a box of the chocolates, he decided to eat one.

"Oh, that's what I thought, too! It seems a lot of different women and men are being kind to me today, many people came by and dropped these off~ And now you!" Antonio smiled.

"…Well, don't accept any weird looking boxes, alright? And definitely don't accept any drinks. I'm off to see Francis" and with that warning, he set off to visit the flirtatious Frenchman.

"Bonjour, Lovi! Please come in, but make it fast because I have a sexy date to attend to soon~" Francis smiled, motioning Lovino to the couch.

"Well, happy Valentine's Day." shoving the pouch into Francis's arms, he sat on the couch.

"Merci!" he said, tasting the chocolate, "It's good, but I'd much rather eat you~"

"Watch yourself.." rolling his eyes, he then asked, "Um.. What does 'friends with benefits' mean?"

Pausing for a second, Francis then answered, "Well.. Just as it sounds! It's when you're friends with someone, and you think of them as just a _friend_, but you also engage in sexual activities." smiling, he added, "So.. You want to be friends with bene-"

"Shut the hell up. That's too damn weird. So.. Any idea where Gilbert is? He didn't answer his phone." Lovino asked, trying not to sound worried.

"He's at the park, said he was going to be 'awesomely alone' while laughing at couples that walk by."

"What an idiot.. I'll go retrieve him."

* * *

><p>Arriving at the park, Lovino was surprised to see many couples. Couples everywhere. As he walked through the snow, he tried to find what seemed to be the only other person <em>without <em>a date. At last, he came upon the lonely albino, standing near a bench.

_He's glowing?_

The snow seemed to make the guy glow just as the moonlight did. If he were to just fly away right at that moment, there would be no surprise. Standing there, Lovino found himself gazing in awe at the beautiful snow angel.

"Lovi! What're you doing here?" Suddenly, Gilbert was standing in front of him, smiling.

"Oh! Um.. Happy Valentine's Day.." blushing deeply, Lovino held out the cute pouch of chocolates.

Gilbert silently took them, and tasted one. "Wow, Lovi. These are-" he suddenly started to cough.

"EH? ! Are you alright? !" Lovino worriedly patted the albino's back.

"Just kidding~!" he laughed, "You should've seen the look on your face! Kesesese~"

"…Screw you." Lovino was not amused. Not in the slightest.

"I was just kidding, love~ They're really delicious! You should become a pastry chef." Gilbert smiled in approval as he continued to eat the chocolates.

"So, why are you here alone? It's Valentine's Day, you know.."

Gilber shrugged, "It's usually just another day for me." Looking at Lovino, he began to smirk, "Did you come here to ask the awesome me to be your Valentine~?"

"D-Don't flatter yourself, bastard!" Lovino turned away, extremely embarrassed. "But.. Since you don't have one.. we might as well be.."

All of a sudden, Gilbert grabbed his wrist and attached something to it.

"Where.. the hell did this come from?" gazing down, Lovino saw that it was a beautiful charm bracelet made out of real silver and aligned with shining emerald stones in the shape of his Zodiac sign. It matched the color of his eyes.

"I had it all along~" smiling, Gilbert grabbed his hand and began pulling him along, "Now come on, let's go have some awesome fun!"

As they came upon the frozen lake, Lovino stared at it in horror while Gilbert rented a couple pairs of skates.

"Ice? Skates? Me? NO." He tried turning around, but Gilbert grabbed his arm and forcefully helped him put on the skates.

"This isn't safe, we should just go.. watch a movie! Yeah." Lovino began to sweat. He remembered the horrible experience as a small child when his grandfather took him and Feliciano to an ice skating rink. After falling and breaking a tooth, he vowed he'd never try it again.

"Don't be so chicken! I'll teach you how to skate~" smiling his usual mischievous smile, he quickly pulled Lovino onto the ice.

"CHIGIII!" he screeched, holding onto Gilbert for dear life.

"Relax, Lovi~ I'll catch you if you fall.. maybe."

Holding hands and slowly skating around in circles for a while, Lovino began to get used to the ice. He actually found it to be quite fun. That is, until Gilbert let his hand go.

"You said you wouldn't let go, like 20 seconds ago, jerk!" Lovino yelled.

"But look, you're doing just fine without me!" Gilbert began to clap. "My awesomeness pays off."

"Well.. I guess I am!" smiling excitedly, Lovino began to skate faster and faster, even daring to do a leap.

_This is sooo damn fun! It's like I'm flying! …Shit._

He hadn't learned to stop himself, and flew into a huge pile of snow on the side of the lake.

Trying his hardest not to laugh, Gilbert rushed over to help the poor boy up. "Lovi, you alright?" reaching out his hand, Lovino took it. And pulled him down.

"That's so not awesome!" Gilbert pouted as he shook the snow out of his hair.

"Hah! That's for earlier with the chocolates, jerk~" Lovino laughed aloud, then suddenly got a snowball thrown into his face.

"Awesome Gilbert uses snowball attack! It's very effective!" running behind a tree, he began to make more snowball ammo.

"What the hell! This means war!" Lovino ducked down and began making his own balls of snow. Looking back up to aim and throw them, his face yet again met another snowball.

"Awesome Gilbert: 2 points! Badass Lovino: 1 point." doing a victory pose, Gilbert laughed and taunted the Italian.

"Damn you!" Lovino ran over and tackled the albino, lying on top of him.

"Lovi~ That's cheating! You're a bad sport." Gilbert said as he poked Lovino's nose.

"Well you're a bad-" suddenly, his stomach rumbled.

"I'm a bad what?"

"..I'm hungry. Take me to get something to eat~" Lovino said in a very childish voice, too cute to ignore.

"Alright, we'll go somewhere Italian!"

After rejecting a number of places, they finally settled for one before it go too late in the evening. When they finished their nice Italian-themed meal, it had begun to snow quite heavily.

"It's too cold to do anything now.." Gilbert frowned.

"Let's go to your place, then. Until it stops snowing." Lovino casually suggested.

A little hesitant at first, Gilbert agreed and they made their way to his studio apartment.

* * *

><p>"What's this?" Lovino asked, sitting on the couch he questionably stared at the glass of liquid Gilbert handed to him.<p>

"Apple cider?"

"And what do you have?" he then glared at Gilbert's glass of extravagant, foamy alcohol.

"Beer. But you're not old enough yet, so you can't have any~" Before he could take a sip, Lovino removed it from his hand.

"If I can't have any, then neither should you! Drink the cider with me."

"Fine fine, I guess it's fair.."

As they sat on the couch, they laughed and discussed random subjects as they warmed themselves up by the fireplace.

"I'm so glad I hung out with you today instead of going to that stupid Valentine's Day dance," Lovino chuckled as he gulped down another glass of cider. "Some girl asked me to go with her, and I rejected her because I didn't even know who the hell she was! Can you believe her friends got pissed because I said no? Buncha jerks."

"Loviiii, Lovi~ Bad mistake! Even if you don't know a chick, if she asks you out you don't just deny her~ well if she's cute. Don't you know anything about the 'game'?"

"And what the hell do _you_ know about the 'game'? You turned 21 last month and you've never had a girlfriend!" Lovino teased, because it was the sad truth.

"Welllllll.. It's too bothersome! I've always stayed awesomely single, the ladies would be jealous if I had a girl." Gilbert boasted.

"Or maybe you've never had a girlfriend because you're an idiot~"

"They won't care how smart I am once they see the awesome five meters~!" Gilbert smiled proudly then rubbed Lovino's head.

"..You're a bastard, you know that? An egotistical, awesome bastard." laughing, he leaned his head forward onto Gilbert's shoulder.

Lovino then continued the list of reasons he thinks Gilbert wouldn't have a girlfriend. "..And you could never keep one because you always leave so suddenly. And I'm pretty sure no girl wants a guy that refers to himself as 'awesome' every five minutes. If you ever did that in bed, they'd slap you."

Gently lifting Lovino's chin with his finger, he stared into those big emerald eyes. "I know you love my awesomeness, or else you wouldn't hang around me."

"So what if I do?" blushing, Lovino turned his head.

Gilbert smiles, then says, "Well there's nothing wrong with that. After all, I hang around you because you're awesome, too~"

Lovino sighed as he reached up and ran his fingers through Gilbert's messy white hair. "I'm also a sucker who always falls for your tricks."

Leaning in closer to Lovino's face, Gilbert smirks and whispers, "My 'awesome' tricks~" then presses his lips against Lovino's.

"Mmm~" he smiled, brushing Lovino's cheek. Gilbert had always enjoyed the taste of the Italian's soft lips.

Unexpectedly, Lovino pulls him into a deeper, more passionate kiss. He opened his mouth, allowing Gilbert's hot tongue to slide into him. He felt as if the life was slowly being sucked out of him, it felt unimaginably wonderful on so many different levels. Secretly, he had wanted this for a very long time now.

_If I could die like this, I'd be happy if it was with Gilbert.._

After a few moments of rough kissing, Lovino lied on his back, pulling the albino so that he was lying above him.

"Gilbert.." Lovino whispered, gazing into those red eyes that he loved so much.

"Yeah?" he answered in a hushed voice.

"I want to do it with you.. Let's have sex."

Eyes widening, the words rang inside of his head, over and over. Hesitantly, he agrees. "…Mhm."

Lovino giggled as Gilbert continually kissed his neck on both sides, the soft pecks from those lips could be felt through every nerve in his body.

Gilbert twirled his fingers around Lovino's hair curl, slightly pulling each time. He enjoyed listening to the cute moans the boy made and the expressions on his face as he tried to hold them in. Moving down, he began to unbutton Lovino's shirt.

"I feel so.. incredibly happy right now.." sighing contently, Lovino closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Gilbert felt a wave of guilt roll over his body. He remembered how Lovino used to seem so small when they first met, back in middle school. He remembered how he had such a short, lean body which now had nicely toned (but still rather small) muscles. They were even almost the same height now.

"Why'd you stop?" noticing he wan't being touched anymore, Lovino sat up.

"I don't think I can do it.. Not right now." Gilbert looked down.

"Why the hell not?" frowning, Lovino stared at the doubtful German.

"It just doesn't.. feel right yet. Besides, you're still a student anyways. And 17 at that." he scratched his head, trying to explain. "Maybe next month when you turn 18, things may be different-"

Lovino got up from the couch without saying a word as he buttoned up his shirt. Grabbing his coat and scarf, he then exited the apartment, walking out into the shivering, cold and snowy night.

A few days later, Gilbert sat at his desk posting every random thing he could find on his blog. Although, no matter what he did, he couldn't stop feeling lonely and guilty.

"Geez, this is so not awesome! I wish I could make him understand.." he sighed loudly before getting an idea. "That's it! I'll just _have_ to make him understand!"

Grabbing his cell phone as quickly as he could, he began texting Lovino. "Okay! _'I want to see you~' _sent!"

Surprisingly, he received a reply almost instantly.

As he waited for Lovino near a bench at that same park, he went over what he would say in his head. Out of no where, the Italian appeared in front of him.

"Lovi! Um.. I'm sorry about last time, I just want you to understand-"

"I understand. You were just trying to be safe, I get it."

"Well that was easier than I expected.." Gilbert mumbled to himself. He then reached out to hug Lovino, but the latter stepped back.

"Don't.." he muttered, "I'm tired of this."

"Tired of what..?" Gilbert asked with a puzzled expression.

"_Everything!_" Lovino blurted out, "You always lead me on, and then leave me wondering what the hell just happened! Ever since I was a freshman.. that's all you've done!" Tears began to escape his eyes, only to freeze, midway down his cheeks from the cold weather. "I have.. I have deep feelings for you and I'm tired of them being played with!"

As he watched the Italian run away, getting farther and farther from his reach, he wondered to himself why he could never keep his precious Lovino in his grasp.

* * *

><p>Staring at the last drop of water in his glass for about ten minutes now, Lovino began to go into a complex train of thought about how gravity could still be able to pull the water down to the ground, before he'd even be able to see it.<p>

_Challenge accepted._

Turning the glass upside down as fast as he could, he tried to catch the drop, only to end up dropping the glass instead.

"Lovi… if you're seriously that bored, go make up with Gilbert and stop breaking my dishes!" Francis had been staring at him the entire time. "This was a good glass.." trying not to cry, he swept up the pitiful remains.

"My bad.. And why should I? If he really wanted to be with me, he would've asked me out a long time ago." looking for another distraction, he started folding a nearby napkin into a paper plane.

"It's **Gilbert** we're talking about. Do you really think he would do something so rational without being told?" Francis sighed. "I'm not going to babysit you every time you get into a jam. Antonio would, but I'm not the type~"

"I've already went to Antonio! He kept pestering and touching me, so I come here now. Whether you like it or not." testing the paper airplane, he tossed it across the room.

"I'll pretend I'm not home next time, then.. By the way, when was the last time you even talked to Gil?"

"A few days after Valentine's Day."

Francis gasped in surprise, "That was a little over a month ago! You haven't seen him at all, either? Poor guy.. He must be dying inside.."

"That's not true. He came to the stupid little gathering Antonio held for me for my 18th birthday about a week ago, remember? He handed me a gift and then left.." thinking about it, Lovino sort of wished they had made up at that time.

"Oh right! Sorry, I was drunk that night. Who knew Antonio would invite such wild, sexy ladies~" Francis said as he licked his lips.

"**You** invited them, dumb ass. Even though it was _my_ party." he rolled his eyes.

"Ohonhonhon~ Anyways, what was it that Gilbert gave you?"

Pointing to the cross he was wearing around his neck, it resembled the one that Gilbert owned.

"Isn't that the one Gil has been wearing, for all these years?"

"No.. he got this one for me.. so we could match." Lovino began to turn bright red, thinking about it.

"So, you still wear it despite what happened?" Francis stared at him, he knew Lovino hadn't completely given up.

"Well.. It's a gift so I'm going to wear it. Just like this charm bracelet! They look good on me.." and he continued to sit there, in denial.

Gulping down his sixth can of beer, Gilbert lazily watched as Antonio cleaned his place for him.

"I don't see why you insist on cleaning _my_ apartment.. I mean, it's _mine_."

"I can't relax when I know there's a mess around me! You should learn from my examples." smiling, Antonio sat down next to Gilbert after he finished washing the dishes.

"I just haven't felt like cleaning, it's.. not awesome at all." looking around for another beer, he was disappointed to see he had finished them all.

"Still, it's not good to sit around! We should go out somewhere and-"

"I miss him terribly.." Gilbert suddenly blurted out. "I can't function without Lovi.. I don't even remember how I managed to survive a year without him, back then.."

"I know you two are currently not speaking.. what happened between you two? No one ever tells me anything! I want to help!" Antonio seemed to be the only one that didn't know it all. It irritated him greatly, as he felt that they no longer trusted him.

"…..Lovino and I have been secretly seeing each other for awhile now." He confessed, then seeing the angry and disappointed expression start to appear on Antonio's face, he added, "but don't worry! We never actually _did_ anything.. A couple times he wanted to, but I either made up an excuse or refused.."

"And.. I guess that's why he thought I was only playing with his feelings. I really am an idiot.."

"Geez, was it really that bad that you guys couldn't confide in me?" Antonio frowned.

"Well, we never told _anyone_. I'm pretty sure Francis caught on long ago, and maybe Feli knows.. It was our secret. I'm sorry, bro.. I guess important things like this should be shared with your friends?"

"Just tell me one thing, Gilbert. Do you love Lovino?" Antonio asked in a serious tone, facing the albino.

"More than anything!" he immediately answered, "I've always loved him, and I always will. Because as corny as it sounds, my heart belongs to him!"

Antonio smiled as he gave Gilbert a big pat on the back.

"Well then! What are you waiting for? You should go tell him that, instead of sitting here talking to me!"

* * *

><p>The Graduation party is held every year for seniors a few days before the actual ceremony. Most of the students would leave as soon as they receive their diploma, so the school started holding the party before. As fun as it was supposed to be, it seemed more like a nuisance.<p>

"The teachers practically _force _us to come to this crap.." Lovino complained.

"Well, at least the food is quite tasty." said his acquaintance, Eduard.

"True that!" but before Lovino could stuff his face with delicious snacks, a familiar voice called out his name.

Turning around, it was exactly what he had hoped it wouldn't be.

_Oh god.. What's he doing here? !_

He tried to escape the room stealthily, but failed miserably as his arm was soon being tugged.

"Damn! Let go of-" at first angrily, he soon grew very disturbed as he turned around to see the incredibly watery eyes of Gilbert.

He had never, _ever _seen the albino cry before. He didn't even know it was possible. But now, as he stared into those red eyes full of unshed tears, it almost made his heart cringe. A horrible feeling developed inside of his stomach, and he decided not to struggle.

"Lovino! I'm sorry for hurting you.. again. It seems that's all I keep doing. But it hurts me just as much, because you're so very precious to me!" Gilbert began to speak from his heart.

"Gilbert, people are staring at us.."

"I don't care. They can stare all they want.. I want everyone to know how much I am in love with you!"

Lovino began to feel his heart beat faster and faster, it felt as if it were now out of control. Being confessed to in front of so many people caused his head to burn so much, and his face looked as if it were permanently red from all of the blushing.

"You're.. making a scene.. Can't we talk about this later..?"

"No, this can't wait," grabbing Lovino's hand, he lightly squeezed it, "I love you, and I want you to belong only to _me_. Not as a friend, but as a lover, boyfriend, or whatever else you want to call it! I promise I'll learn to become awesome at this 'couples' thing."

Lovino stared at him in shock before he couldn't take it anymore and jumped into his arms, holding him tightly.

"You're a bastard for making me feel this way!" Lovino began to cry out, "why.. why is that whenever you're around, I can't concentrate.. and it becomes hard to breathe? Why does my heart beat so fast when you touch me? Why do I get so many urges.. to just kiss you? !"

_These feelings.. It hurts but.. It feels so good.._

"Dummy! That's how it feels to be in love! And I feel it, too~" Gilbert smiled cheerfully, wiping Lovino's tears, he held him close.

"I... I love you, damn it! I love you so much!" Lovino, in the arms of the first person he has ever loved, they shared a sweet and tender kiss.

* * *

><p>"Ve~ Brother! I'm so proud of you! Now I'm going to graduate next~!" Feliciano tightly squeezed Lovino as they took a few more group photos at his graduation.<p>

"I'll be leaving this school now, so you better take good care of my brother.. Ludwig." there's a first time for everything, even calling someone by their actual name instead of a vegetable.

"Don't worry, he's in safe keeping." Ludwig smiled as he'd finally gained Lovino's trust.

"Look at you, Lovi~ Being all grown up now! It's so cute!" Antonio laughed as he pinched Lovino's tomato red cheeks.

"Don't hog the graduate! Let me have a bite~" Francis grabbed Lovino and swiftly laid a kiss on his forehead.

"Actually! He's mine, so I'll be taking him now." wearing his usual smirk, Gilbert grabbed Lovino's hand and ran away from the others.

"You know, I still haven't packed yet!" Lovino yelled, puffing his cheeks.

"We'll do that later! But, what are you going to do now, Mr. Graduate~?" Gilbert asked, kissing Lovino's hand.

"What do you mean? I'm going wherever you go, of course." Lovino blushed.

"And what if I lead you into oblivion?"

"Then that's where we'll be. And I'll bitch at you the entire time~" laughing, he wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Yikes! That's not awesome.. Instead, I'll take you somewhere special. There's an awesome hot springs inn, up in the mountains north of here. We should go this weekend~" Gilbert suggested, kissing Lovino's cheek.

"I like that idea. Antonio wouldn't mind, but I bet Francis will be so jealous he missed out~"

"Kesesese~ then we should just keep it a secret!"

Smiling brightly, Lovino gazed into those scheming, but beautiful red eyes once more, "Our secret~"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so they went to the hot springs and had lots of relaxation and 'love' time~! Giggity! ;D**

**Again, sorry for the time skip. I just really REALLY wanted to write something about Valentine's Day for those two to have a romantic evening.. kinda.**

**And thankssss again for the reviews, praise, criticism, & encouragement! I'll have to think of some more Prumano short stories. It'll be hard now but I just love this damn couple so much.**


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